Sevenfold
by mordicai7
Summary: Hinata is the heir to the most influential company in Japan. Naruto is known in town as the happy go lucky goofball. Hinata has never attended a public school. Sasuke has the looks and smarts. Hinata wants a quiet high school life. Sakura smells something fishy about her. This is a high school fanfic with romance, comedy, drama and a bit of action. Please comment and enjoy.
1. Prologue

Hey guys this is Mordicai7 (im a girl) and um ya know... well this is a quest to create the perfect naruhina fanfic with not a lot of OOC ness but also character growth. I'm trying to include EVERYTHING in it without going out of control. This is just the prologue from here on out the chapters will be much longer. I want to finish this before school starts (which for me is in 15 days) but I still have a lot of summer work so I could use a little encouragement (hint, wink, nudge, COMMENT cough). And also I'd love any story ideas.

I Don't Own Naruto or any characters Obviously... we all know who does (do people actually try to convince others their Kishimoto?)

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Sevenfold Prologue

Her breath rose and fell with the rustle of the wind and the sounds of the leaves. It was fall; the girl's favorite season. She could bask in the chilled sun or keep to herself under a pile of raked leaves, her pure violet eyes peeking out of the sanctuary. This time the teenage girl had come to her place for just a peaceful place to think. It was some time after her father had asked her to speak in one of his major business meetings. The girl sighed as she recalled her feat. Not only had she spoken out of turn but, she went against her father's decision to build another factory due to the pollution it would cause.

"Argh," she said as loud as she dared, ruffling her long hair.

She collapsed in a pile of leaves she made on an earlier day and hummed a tune. The girl faintly remembered her mom singing it to her when she was little; before she died. She sang it softly so barley any noise could be heard.

"Ano hi mita sora akane iro no sora wo nee kimi wa oboeteimasu ka..."

When she remembered no more, she rose from her bed of leaves and dusted herself of. She wanted no suspicion from her father about where she had been. As the heir to the Hugya family, she was supposed to be a strong, smart and respectable woman. This was everything she forced herself to be. Up until this summer she had been home schooled by the best scholars and tutors of the world. Fluent in Japanese, Chinese, English and French Hinata was raised to be the perfect heir to the business empire her father had built. Over the 16 years she had been alive she had heard the same speech over and over again about how much money her dad invested into her. Slowly she rose from her bed of leaves. She checked the sun in the sky for an approximation of the time. Hours of solitude brought her many small talents.

"About 2:53," she mumbled.

A small smirk appeared as she was braved with a new challenge. As the heir to the Hugya the girl attended many activities such as calligraphy, flower arranging, classical dance, viola lessons and sewing class. And these were just the activities she faced on Sundays, her day to rest. She was also required to study a traditional ancient Hugya art called the gentle fist. Hinata remembers her dad telling her stories of how centuries ago the town she lives in, Konoha, used to be filled with ninjas and the Hugya was one of the main clans. Hinata and her younger sister Hinabi loved to hear about the gentle fist and the powers of the Byakugan. Snapping out of her memories Hinata remembered she was running late for her flower arranging class.

"Okay I have about 7 minutes to get there. If I make it'd be my new record," she said to herself.

The girl kicked of her shoes and stuffed them into a pack she then threw over onto her back. She climbed the tree nearest and took a breath of the air when she got to the top. She was tempted to skip the lesson and stare at the beautiful trees now below her. Against her will, lavender eyes jumped from tree top to tree top as fast as she could. She knew no good would come out of bailing. As she increased speed her long dark hair became a clash of purple that melted into the sun's orange rays.

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More later :)


	2. New

Hey again thanks for reading! This is the first real chapter. Let's do this!

Still don't own Naruto or any characters.

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New

Hinata lay in bed well rested but reluctant to get up. She glanced to her left to see she had woken up before her alarm clock. Thirty minutes early to be exact. She sighed and tried to go back to her dreams of princes and life beyond her prison of a mansion. After a while she decided to get an early start. Groggily she climbed out of bed and like a robot performed her daily routines. _First brush my teeth then wash my face then change into my uniform she recited in her mind. _Hinata walked over to her bathroom unenthusiastic and began to do all those things. It wasn't long before she realized her alarm clock was rigging. The first sounds of the clock were met by a knocking on the door.

"Come in Hikaru," Hinata said while still washing her face. A young maid entered the room and greeted her.

"Good morning Hinata-san," she said with a smile. She offered Hinata a designer purse with books and pencils. Then she motioned for Hinata to sit in front of the mirror. Hinata finished buttoning her uniform and smiled back at her maid.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me just Hinata," Hinata replied as she sat in the chair. She hated sitting in front of the mirror. She hated having to see her face. She didn't even know who she was. After all the years of tutors and lessons she never had a chance to be just a girl. Hinata wondered who she actually was. The only choice she had made for herself was her long hair which she kept as a connection to her mother. Even so, Hikaru always styled it for her. She felt Hikaru apply some cream to her hair and comb it out. Then she clipped a part of Hinata's hair back and lifted her hair up to put a necklace Hinata had never seen on her. The girl was startled by the coldness of the locket on her chest and held it up to look at it.

"It's a present from your father. He told me to tell you that he will be in Spain for the next two days and he is sorry he couldn't see you off on your first day of school." With that Hikaru bowed and exited the room. Hinata smiled as thanks but knew that her father would never apologize for not being here. It's just something she's gotten used to.

Suddenly something hit her. '_Nobody at school knows that I am the heiress to the Hyuga Corp. so why don't I try and make some real friends?_' she thought. '_I won't get my hopes up but, there's nothing wrong with giving it a good attitude! _Rather than slugging around like before, Hinata walked over to her bag with a sense of purpose. She marched out of her room and to the kitchen area where the usual all you can eat continental breakfast awaited. Her little sister Hanabi and her cousin Neji were already stuffing themselves. "Good morning," Hinata announced to the table. Hanabi waived in her sisters direction not turning away from her pancakes and Neji, a generally quiet person, nodded at her. Hinata grabbed a large piece of toast from the pile and sat across from Neji. Neji wasted no time giving Hinata the low down.

"Okay so you are going to be in Kakashi's class for homeroom and you have him for English, Kureni's class for fine and applied arts, Guy's class for P.E, Anko for math, Asuma for history and Iruka for science. Here is your schedule." Neji slid a neat binder across the table and Hinata knew he was going to be helpful in the whole 'new girl' process. Hinata could say that Neji was her only friend in the world but he was more like her body guard. He even insisted that he stay back a year so they could share some of the same classes.

"Thanks nee-san I'll be fine."

"Yeah you will I'll never leave your side." Hinata laughed but she knew he was partially serious. The two of them finished and left Hanabi at the table who was still being home schooled. Outside Hayate a butler was waiting in a limo to take them to school. Hinata signed when she saw the huge white ride.

"Thanks for the offer Hayate but I'd much rather have Neji nee-san drive me to school," Hinata expressed. Without a second thought Hayate drove off to make use of his uncommon free time.

Neji gave a rare smile to his cousin and he literally hopped into his fancy car Hinata didn't know the name of. The second the engine started Hinata switched the music to a CD she made for Neji two years ago. In seconds Yura Yura was blasting and they sped off. Both of them sang along to the song taking turns having solos. Hinata looked in the mirror to see herself smiling genuinely. _Ten minutes into this school thing and I feel great! _When they arrived at school Hinata turned down the volume to be respectful. She marveled at the amount of people lounging and laughing without a care in the world. The Hyuga felt self conscious about herself with all the girls wearing makeup and rolled up skirts. She saw one girl with long blond hair and her shirt rolled up to reveal her belly button and a non- existent skirt. To Hinata it looked as if most of the girls were walking around half naked. She blushed and looked to Neji for support only to find he was already out of the car halfway to the school entrance. Swiftly Hinata made her way to her cousin's side avoiding stares and whispers about a new girl. When she made it to him he was talking to a busty woman with blond hair.

"So this is Hinata Hyuga eh," she murmured looking at her up and down. Then she smiled. "My name is Tsunade and I'm the principal of this school. You look like a sweet girl so I'm not worried about you causing trouble or anything. Since your cousin here took care of everything why don't you head over to your homeroom?" With that the cousins were dismissed. Hinata followed Neji out of the office and then a loud bell sounded. To the girl's surprise, hundreds of teens began to swarm out of nowhere. Frightened, the newbie grabbed onto her friend's jacket. Neji faced his cousin.

"Don't worry you'll be fine. Your class is right there," he gestured to the closest door. Like he had never been there Neji vanished into the crowd.

Naruto sat back in his chair and groaned loudly. Although Sasuke was much cooler about it, the two boys shared the same dilemma along with Kiba, the boy next to him banging his head on the desk.

"Dude I can't take it anymore!" Kiba and Naruto shouted at the same time. Sasuke looked over to his best friends and sighed which merited a choral of yelps from fan girls watching the scene.

"Okay how about we do 'that' again?" Sasuke suggested. Naruto and Kiba looked at each other and then at Sasuke.

"But with who? All the girls are already in love with you Sasuke and the last time we tried it with Yu-," Kiba interrupted Naruto.

"Yo never speak _her_ name again!" Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. Just then Kakashi walked into the room. All the chatter stopped and people hustled into their seats.

"Okay guys we have a new-," he began but was interrupted by Sai.

"Is it a girl or boy sensei? Last time we got Naruto over there and I'm still not sure if he's a boy or girl," Sai commented with an innocent face. Everybody laughed at this and Naruto rolled up his sleeves ready for a fight.

"Naruto beat up Sai later please," Kakashi continued. "Alright you can come in hon." Naruto took his seat as she walked in. Hinata smiled sweetly at the class and bowed like she practiced.

"Hello my name is Hinata. It is a pleasure to meet you all." She looked up from her bow to see the classes' eyes wide. Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba all had the same thought. They glanced at each other and mentally communicated the plan.

_So first to get her to say 'I love you' wins 50_ bucks? This was followed by a quick nod.

Hinata was worried. In her dreams at this time the class would all smile back but no one made a move.

"Alright then Hinata-chan would you please take your seat by the window behind Naruto." Hinata nodded and moved toward the empty seat. As soon as she sat down she was bombarded with questions from the guy in front.

"Hey I'm Naruto. Where are you from? Do you like ramen noodles?" He boomed.

"Uh hi," she responded ignoring all of his questions. _Is everybody like this?! _

"Shut up baka she doesn't want to talk to you," Sasuke interjected.

"Look teme I don't remember you being a part of this conversation." Soon Naruto was lifting up Sasuke by his collar and they were growling at each other over Hinata's desk. She pushed her chair out to avoid being a part of their quarrel. Then she heard a voice in her ear.

"Don't worry their always like that," Kiba whispered. Hinata took all of her strength not to yelp. She turned around to be nose to nose with a rough looking boy with tattoos on his face. The boy smiled and offered his hand. Hinata took it and he kissed her hand gentially. "I'm Kiba," he murmured into her hand. Sasuke and Naruto turned their heads to see this development. Kiba smirked thinking he had 'one upped' the other boys but was disappointed to see Hinata was mildly fazed by his gesture. Hinata was used to the high class life so a kiss on the hand was fairly standard to her. As if nothing had happened the bell rang again and Hinata got up to go to her next class. She casually turned back and smiled at her new 'friends'.

"Bye guys!"

Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke were too stunned to say anything.

"Looks like you losing your touch Kiba," Naruto teased nudging his friend. Kiba pushed him off and crossed his arm pouting.

"What do you guys say to raising the bet to 100? This is going to turn out into more than a two day thing I can tell," Sasuke suggested. Naruto and Kiba glanced at each other and nodded.

"Well may the best man win," Naruto shouted and ran off yelling," wait up Hinata-chan." Sasuke grinned at Naruto's straightforwardness.

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Well... eh eh? How is it? Like the idea? I can make it for the whole fic or just make it a small as like an intro into the characters you choose! Too short? You tell me.


	3. Game or Reality?

Hey guys this is the continuation of the story YAY. If you have anymore feed back FIRE AWAY. I already got the negi neJi thing I feel stupid about that. Let's do this bros.

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Game or Reality?

Naruto dashed out of the classroom and fell into pace with Hinata who, busy looking at her schedule, didn't notice him. He tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped at his touch but calmed when she saw a familiar face.

"Hey," he began," I was just wondering if you needed any help like getting to your classes. Naruto flashed his trademark grin at the new girl not wanting to waste anytime. He knew if he didn't seal the deal soon Sasuke would swoop in like he normally did. Although the boys had only done this 'game' a few times Naruto hated that he had never won once. Either the girl was drawn to Sasuke's looks and nonchalant attitude or she was infatuated by Kiba's sweet talk. Never had any girl been able to keep up with Naruto's outbursts.

Hinata, thankful for the offer handed Naruto the binder Neji gave her and pointed to where she should be.  
"Right now I am supposed to have math with Anko-sensei." Naruto's face brightened instantly.

"That's where im headed! Follow me!" This is what he said but to onlookers it looked more like Naruto was dragging Hinata by the hand. The two of them fast walked all the way into the class room. When they arrived, the blonde stopped abruptly to make sure Hinata had gotten there in one piece. He glanced back and saw a tiny blush had tainted her cheeks. Naruto beamed. _Ha she's probably embarrassed about me holding her hand or something!' _Hinata gave Naruto a small smile of her own as she assessed the classroom in awe, her heart beating only due to the new experience.

_'So this is high school?!' _she thought oblivious to Naruto's ulterior motives and thoughts.

The teens sat down quickly when they noticed Anko enter the room. The teacher wore a black pencil skirt and a loose green blouse and had the look of utter boredom. She reached under the table to grab something and Hinata eyed her teacher enthusiastically. The excitement Hinata had felt had completely died down seconds later. This was her first actual class ever and Hinata was disappointed. Anko wrote a problem on the board wrote how to solve it, talked about it for two or three minutes and then moved on to the next example. Hinata knew there was no way she would've understood this had she not already studied up to college level calculus. A soft sigh escaped her mouth as she put her head on her hand. She stayed like this for a second but quickly sat up straight when she remembered something.

_'I can't slouch on the first day this is crucial! Anyway what would father say if he saw me like this after I begged to be put in public school?'_

Hinata decided if she wasn't going to be paying attention to the lesson she might as well do something more productive. She opened her notebook and began to doodle. First it was just flowers and smiles but then Hinata got a little more serious. She drew sketches of the people she knew by heart. Neji, Hanabi and then her mother. Deciding to test her abilities Hinata wondered if she could properly capture the teacher, Anko, who was moving constantly. Finally enjoying herself, Hinata stared at Anko when she was facing the class to memorize the details of her face and then quickly transferred the picture from her mind to the paper. She had done this process about five times when she looked up and Anko was just inches away from her. This time the Hyuga couldnt hold back a small yelp. Her suprise had won a chuckle from everyone but Anko who apparently had been standing here for a while.

"Ms. Hinata what are you doing?" Anko said trying to keep her voice level. Hinata, not used to school life, didn't mince words.

"I was just doodling," she responded giving Anko what she thought was just polite eye contact.

_'This brat is trying to make a fool of me?!' _Anko felt her blood pressure rise and she elevated her voice.

"Well if you have time to do that and not pay attention to my lesson why dont you just teach the class yourself?" Anko smirked this always got em'. If you said yes you'd be left standing at the board like a fool and if you said no you'd stay slumped in your chair feeling embarrassed. The class waited for Hinata's answer apprehensiveness and Hinata fidgeted slightly under the pressure. She opened her mouth to respond. To the classes suprise, Sasuke beat her to it.

"Anko-san don't you think that's a bit unfair? Hinata has already missed a week of this lesson how would she know what to do?" Hinata turned her head to see Sasuke sitting behind her. With all the earlier excitement she hadn't even noticed his presence in the class. Although grateful for his support, Hinata had already decided what she would do.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun but I think I might know a way to help the class if sensei is willing to give me a chance." She glanced up at Anko's fuming face for approval. As if on cue Anko took a seat in the back of the class and gestured for Hinata to proceed. Confident in her abilities the Hyuga made her way to the board."Raise your hand if you fully understand how to solve example 2." Hinata said to the class. Her voice although normal level projected well as of she was talking to each student individually. Just like that, the class came alive.

"I think the only ones who do understand are Sasuke and Shikamaru," a girl with brown buns atop her head responded. Everybody murmured in agreement. Sasuke leaned back in his chair a bit curious as to what Hinata would do. Shikamaru was most definitely sleeping, his head on his desk and cheek smeared with drool. Naruto just stared intently at the new teacher hoping someone could cure his stupidity. Hinata took a deep breath and wrote the most basic factoring equation she could think of.

"2x²+4x-16," Naruto mumbled to himself scribbling the equation into his notebook.

"Firstly what is the greatest common factor of his equation?" Anko watched over in awe as 9 hands shot up one of them was even Naruto. "Naruto-kun?"

"Um 2?" he asked unsure of his answer. Hinata smiled and put a 2 next to the equation.

"And what do you get once you've factored out the two?" she pointed to a boy with a bowl cut and large eyes.

"x²+2x-8 ma'am and my name is rock lee!" he boomed with spirit.

"Thank you lee-kun. Now this is the easy part." Hinata told the class. She drew a square on the board and divided it into 4 small squares then waited patiently for everyone to do the same in their books. "You put the first term in the first box and the last term in the last box." Hinata neatly wrote the terms in. "Then you multiply them together to get -8x²," she finished. Sasuke was impressed. She was smart, very smart. Not only was she able to present such a basic method to the class but she did it with such ease.

"Is everybody still with me?" Hinata asked. Then she continued. "Now what two numbers multiply to -8 and add to the middle term which is a positive two," she continued gesturing to the numbers. After ten seconds of thinking 12 hands shot up. Hinata scanned the room and decided to call on a boy she recognized from homeroom. "Yes you," she said pointing to Sai.

"4 and -2," he replied confidently. Hinata wrote the terms in the remaining boxes. Suddenly a shout came from the back of the class.

"Uh Hinata-sensei how do you know what box to write the numbers in?" the voice asked. The students looked from the student back to Hinata expectantly.

"It doesn't matter which box," she responded with a smirk. The class cheered for her to continue. "Okay the last step is to find the Greatest common factor going across the squares." She pointed toward the terms to further explain what she meant. Then she nodded her head for everyone to figure out the answer. It wasn't long before people were hopping out of their seats with the answer. "How about we all say the answer on the count of three?" She saw nods and thumbs ups as agreement.

"One...Two...Three!"

~~~~5 seconds later~~~~

Anko looked at her class learning and LAUGHING. She watched as her students swarmed the new girl.

"Wow Hinata-chan how'd you do that? You've got to help me with some other stuff!"

"Hey-Hey buddy get in line Hinata already promised she'd-"

"Look who's talking if anybody needs help it's-"

"OYYYYY!" Naruto interrupted the bickering and grabbed Hinata out of the crowd pulling her into a protective hug. "Hinata is M-I-N-E!" Hinata felt her heart beat what did he mean my that? _Surely he didn't mean like... But we just met today! But what if he actually..._ Hinata was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Anko yell her name.

"Hinata!" Everybody went silent when they heard Anko's venomous voice. Hinata stepped forward ready for anything. "How dare you! You little witch!" Hinata winced at this word. Naruto noticed the girls confidence drain, her shoulders drooping slightly. "Do you think you can come into my classroom and embarrass me like that in front of my students? I'm sure that method doesn't work for everything! Where did you get that from?!"

"I-I made it up m-myself," Hinata stammered. "And I'd just like to say it w-wasn't my intention to embarrass you I was jus-" Hinata didn't have a chance to finish. Anko slapped her on the cheek. The entire class gasped but no one made a move. Anko raised her hand to slap the girl again but, was stopped by Sasuke. The Uchiha was furious. Only a few people could tell when he was mad. Naruto being one of them tensed up to see his friend like this.

"If you ever lay a hand on her again I'll make sure you never see the light of day," he spoke this in a harsh, cold voice. Anko ripped her hand away from his grip and stepped back.

"Why do you care about her? I'm sure she just did this as a way to get attention! Who actually believes this girl is capable of anything? She's a disgrace!" Anko's voice rang in the class. Everyone turned towards Hinata who forced a smile. She walked over to her desk and gathered her things. "H-Hey where are you going?" Naruto called out breaking the silence. Soon other voices did the same.

"H-Hinata don't..."

"Hinata-chan"

"Please wait." The girl turned toward her classmates, bowed and turned away. She made sure not to let any of her tears fall down until she turned her back on the class, opened the door and walked out. Only when she had walked several steps away did she begin to cry. She ran and ran her tears blurring her vision and Anko's words ringing in her ears. 'Who actually believes this girl is capable of anything? She's a disgrace!' Even when Hinata dropped the binder Neji gave her she kept running until there was nowhere left to go. _Mom, did I really screw everything up already?_

_"Ano hi mita sora akane iro no sora wo nee kimi wa oboeteimasu ka..." _

_"_Wow... That's some voice you've got there," Sasuke whispered into her ear. Hinata gasped and turned to see Sasuke's cold eyes staring into her soul. She was speechless. What could she say in this situation? She had just walked out after being slapped by the teacher.

"Th-," Hinata began to utter words of thank's for Sasuke standing up for her but he placed a finger on her lips. At first Sasuke had planned to follow her to get ahead in the game but, he realized along the way he was concerned about her if only a bit.

"You know, you're beautiful when your crying?" He carefully raised her long hair to his lips and kissed it delicately. "Don't let anyone else see your crying face but me," he commanded softly and wiped her tears away. Just like that, the boy handed her the binder she dropped and was on his way leaving Hinata panting, face flushed.

_What was that! I've never been that... intimate with a boy! Why won't my heart calm down!? _Hinata fidgeted nervously still trying to comprehend what happened when the bell rang bringing her back to reality. She shook her body and lightly slapped her face. "Sasuke-kun is right I can still go on!" She motivated herself and took out her binder to look at her next class.

"P.E here I come!" she stated with a fire in her eyes and a petite fist balled ready for action.

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Well what'd you think? I hope I didn't spend too much time on the actual math I just didn't want to skip over it. Ya know? Btw I don't hate Anko just bad luck for her... off to p.e


	4. Perfect

Thanks for being so supportive guys. I wonder why it's so easy to write this story and yet I haven't even started my English essay... I bet that's what my mom thinks I'm always typing :P anyway don't forget to comment ya know tell me what u think :)

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Perfect

As soon as she entered the locker room Hinata was bombarded with questions about her earlier spat with Anko. "Hey Hinata are you okay? Everybody was worried when you left." Hinata picked out Ten Ten from the crowd of girls and smiled to show she was okay. Ten Ten gave her a thumbs up but was engulfed in a sea of curious girls.

"I heard you got into a fight with Anko!"

"Someone was mumbling about you before about ho-"

"Shut up!" Hinata turned towards the shout and saw two girls. One was breathing heavily like she'd just ran a race and the other had her arms crossed a pout painted on her face. The one that had just yelled had pink hair that Hinata was curious about and the other was the girl with long blond hair and a short skirt Hinata saw earlier.

"Give the girl some space would ya?" the pinket demanded and pulled Hinata out of the crowd. The entire locker room was silent. The blond glared at the girls and they soon turned away to finish changing.

"Thank you for that I wasn't sure how to answer them. My name is Hinata nice to meet you." Hinata bowed politely which caused them to giggle a bit. She looked up confused.

"What's with the formality were classmates? Anyway I'm Ino and this ugly girl next to us is Sakura," Ino explained carefully nodding. Hinata unsure of what to say nodded along with her.

"Hey don't agree with that," Sakura pointed at Hinata," and Ino you pig stop brainwashing the new girl," she finished. Ino's face twisted up when she heard her old nick name and she moved closer to Sakura.

"Why don't you say that again forhead!" to Hinata this scene looked oddly familiar. She giggled to herself when she remembered and the two other girls turned their heads.

"Hinata-chan what's so funny?" Sakura inquired.

"I-it's just that," she began still chuckling, "You two remind me of my friends Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun." They went silent and then broke away from each other and placed their hands on her shoulders.

"Did you say Sasuke-kun?" they asked at the same time. Hinata confused wasn't sure what to say.

"Yes I did are you guys also friends with him?"

"I love him!" they replied instantly. This sparked yet another outburst of 'Ino pig' and 'forehead'. Hinata sighed and decided to ignore them to change into her P.E clothes which were the traditional tight fitting shorts and t-shirt. The girl changed quickly feeling embarrassed due to the lack of privacy. Then she glanced around to see every other girl had their hair up.

_'Hikaru where are you when I need you,' _Hinata fretted.

"Hey Hinata if you're ready we can all go," Ten Ten asked bringing the Hygua back to reality. Hinata noticed Ino and Sakura had stopped bickering and were waiting by the door smiling. Hinata nodded that she was ready and joined her new friends.

~~~~~out side the locker room~~~~~

"Oy Hinata!" Naruto called out waiving when he saw her come out of the girls locker room. He, Kiba and Sasuke were all standing together. The girls approached them. Kiba wasted no time swooping in.

"Hinata-chan," he began," I've been counting the minutes that I haven't seen you. Please never leave my side again." He looked into her eyes for any sign he had succeeded in his seduction technique. Sasuke and Naruto looked at Hinata aswell. The girls watched the scene curiously.

"Thanks for looking out for me Kiba-kun," Hinata replied sweetly. Kibas mouth dropped.

_How did 'don't leave me' turn into 'I'm a great pal'_. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Kiba's failure.

"That's right Kiba there IS a girl who can resist your charms," he whispered into his friend's ear. Hinata, oblivious, turned back to her girlfriends leaving Kiba sulking on his knees and Naruto laughing maniacally over him.

Sasuke was deep in thought. _'So her weakness is that?'_

In the girls circle Ino began questioning Hinata. "What was that all about? I know Kiba is a player but you've just transferred. You'd think he'd have the decency to at least wait till you're settled in!"

"Nah I could believe it I mean it's Kiba!" Ten Ten pointed out. The girls seriously pondered it and laughed when they realized she was right.

"Anyway Hinata do you play any sports?" Sakura asked.

"Well I us-" Hinata started but was interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. When she turned she saw her cousin in P.E clothes smirking slightly.

"Neji!" she shouted a little to loudly. She jumped into her cousins arms excited to be in his class. He blushed not used to seeing her so bubbly. "I have so much to tell you!"

"Yeah you do I heard you got in a fight with a teacher!" Neji questioned.

Ten Ten interrupted them. "Actually Hinata didn't do anything wrong at all."

Neji raised an eyebrow. _Who are all these people? And how dare she call her 'Hinata'. Addressing the heiress to the Hygua Company with such disrespect!_ Hinata looked over to see Neji getting ready for one of his speeches. She braced herself but it never came. Instead she heard Kiba's voice.

"Hinata why won't you hug me? My heart hurts to see you in the arm-" Kiba never finished. In a flash Neji was lifting Kiba by the collar. Naruto he swore he saw Neji breathing fire.

"How about instead of your heart aching I smash it into a million pieces?" Neji threatened. "Don't get all chummy with her we all know your type Inuzuka!" Neji tossed Kiba aside like a doll right into Naruto. Then he was gone.

"Kiba-kun! Are you okay im sorry." Hinata stammered helping him up.

"Hey don't worry about it. He's just looking out for you." then Kiba leaned down and spoke into her ear. "You can make it up to me later."Hhe slipped a small note into her hand and turned back to his friends.

~~~~~2 mins later~~~~~

"Sakura Haruno you're up next!" Might Guy yelled for for the next student to come up. They were doing individual assessments in the gymnastics room. All the students, except his apprentice Lee, would say that the test was completely unfair. Five kids had already been sent to the infirmary however Guy thought that was a part of the experience. The test was simple: run and jump over a stack of blocks. That was it. Granted the blocks were five feet tall but so what if it's a bit of a challenge? That was Guy's thinking.

Sakura got up a bit nervous to be doing the test infront of Sasuke. On her way to the runway she was mumbled a good luck from Naruto who had just run straight into the blocks. Sakura decided just to get it over with. She sprinted and leapt as high as she could then used her hands to propell over the blocks. She landed on the other side on her but but it was an accomplishment. "HELL YEAH!" she yelled getting whistles of praise from her classmates. She glanced at Sasuke to see his reaction but he showed no interest as usuall.

"Good job Sakura! That's the power of youth! Next we'll have our new girl Hinata-chan!" Hinata stood up nervously and looked back at her friends. They all gave their own faces of encouragement. Pumped up she marched over to the runway. She took a deep breath. To her classmates it didn't look like she was sprinting; she was barley jogging. The amount of gracefulness she had made her look like a gazel. Hinata easily jumped over the blocks her toes pointed like a professional. When she landed there was almost no sound. It was perfect. The entire gym including Guy was silent. Sakura was stunned.

_Hinata is cute, smart, nice and now athletic!? Nobody is that...that perfect!?_ Sakura thought. When Hinata had received her applause and returned Naruto was the first to talk.

"Hinata that was awesome! Is there anything you can't do?!" Hinata blushed at his praise and found herself loosing her composure.

_My heart! It won't stop! _

"W-well it's nothing I took ballet for 12 years so I'm pretty flexible but I'm not really good at other sports."

Naruto looked at her rosy cheeks. _What a cutie! _

He decided to voice his opinion, "You know Hinata your really cute when your blushing." He smiled and pinched her cheeks making her blush more.

"I-I," Hinata couldn't find her words. She dropped her eyes and played with her shirt.

_Wow she really is embarrassed! _Naruto smirked.

_He's so close!_

Suddenly Sakura pulled Naruto away by the ear destroying the moment, "Ah ah Sakura-chan what's the big deal?!" Naruto shouted.

Sakura shouted with equal volume, "Don't go messing with a maiden's heart baka!" Sakura didn't even know just how right she was.

~~~~~5 mins later~~~~~

"Don't forget to sign up for the volleyball tournament!" Guy yelled to his class as they hurried into the changing rooms.

"Hinata you should sign up," Ten Ten hinted.

"Are you going to be doing it?" she asked in response. She didn't want to tell her eager friend she had never played volleyball let alone even heard of it.

"Well actually it's a student council event and since I'm the vice president I'm trying to get as many people as possible to join."

Hinata remembered Neji telling her about the student council. She was pretty sure he was aprart of it in some way.

"I'll ask Sakura and Ino if they are interested," Hinata replied. Ten Ten smiled and waved goodbye to her friend bouncing out of the locker room. Hinata glanced to her left to see Sakura and Ino bickering again and she decided it was safe to look at the note Kiba gave her. She kept it tucked in her shorts before because she didn't want anybody to ask questions. Hinata carefully unfolded the note and read it slowly. Then she reread it again to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. She slipped the note into her purse and zipped it up. Then she took a deep breath in and out.

"Hey girls?" Hinata murmured to her friends. They turned towards her concerned by her tone.

"What is it Hinata?" Ino inquired.

"I-I'm really hungry," she finished her cheeks as pink as Sakura's hair.

"Hinata!" they yelled dragging out the a's in her name.

"Fine let's go but I got to warn you, lunch is by far the craziest part of the day!" Sakura told her pulling her through the door way. Hinata giggled and let her self be dragged around.

_So this is high school?! _

* * *

You thought I was gona tell you what Kiba wrote eh eh ehhh not yet :P also i feel like I've been neglecting a couple characters so... Get ready! Commment I love feedback


	5. Check

Okay so I guess u could say the story has been progressing pretty slowly BUT the flow will change slightly from here on out. Don't forget to review/comment you know how I like that :D

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Check

Hinata followed Sakura Ino and Ten Ten to what she assumed was their regular table. Almost everyone she had met today was already there chatting and eating. Hinata noticed that her friends had split up into small clicks and she wondered who she should sit near. In the end Sakura dragged her over to the table and she ended up sitting on the end surrounded by the other girls. Not before long Ten Ten had to serve as a mediator between Sakura and Ino while Hinata giggled furiously on the sidelines. On the other side of the table Naruto huffed grandly.

"Why isn't Hinata sitting over here?" he asked to nobody in particular. He was sitting across from Sasuke and Kiba and next to Shikamaru who was too busy getting nagged by Ino to overhear the conversation.

"In case you haven't realized yet she's not like the other girls," Sasuke said casually not looking up from his meal.

"What you mean?" Naruto asked cluelessly.

Sasuke sighed. _Well I guess this is Naruto were talking about._

Moving on Naruto addressed Kiba. "Hey your awfully quiet man. Wait don't tell me you gave up?!" Naruto got close to Kiba's face and the other boy sneered.

"Shut up Naruto we all know that you're not even part of this competition in fact..." Kiba whispered the last part and Sasuke leaned in closer to eavesdrop. His eyebrow raised slightly when he heard the news. Naruto on the other hand was devastated.

"Are you serious Kiba!" Kiba smirked and crossed his arms.

"Humph don't try to play with the player boys," he commented laughing evilly. Then he returned to devouring his food.

Naruto was deep in thought._ Don't mess with a maidens heart._ He remembered what Sakura said feeling guilty. He had to admit Kiba's plan was full proof however Naruto felt conflicted. He had nothing against Hinata in fact he thought that they could be friends but the game...

_Why am I feeling like this? It's probably because the girls we played before were just typical girls. Hinata is different she's genuine and smart and talented and just so cute. I have to win this game I can't let Kiba or Sasuke get their dirty hands on her! It-_

"What the frick!?" Naruto yelled out loud standing up and spilling his water. He looked up to see his entire table staring at him. He made eye contact with Hinata and then turned away."Uh I um... See you guys later." Naruto grabbed his stuff and booked it out of the lunch room leaving his friends dumbfounded. He ran down the hall into the nearest boys bathroom and leaned against the sink panting. He looked at his flustered face and splashed himself with water.

"What am I thinking?! This is about the money, wining and having a good time! If I don't win I won't be disappointed because Hinata likes someone else it'll be cause I lost! I mean she's only been here for half a day there's no way I could..." Just then Naruto heard a flush in the far stall and seconds later he was staring at Sai. Sai nonchalantly walked to the sinks either ignoring Naruto or not caring that he just overheard the blond's rant.

"Um Sai do you think you can not tell everybody in school what I just said?" Naruto approached with caution. He and Sai were frenemies. Not like with Sasuke who he knew always would have a back. Naruto was sure when the moment came Sai would happily stab him in the back. Literally.

"Keeping secrets from friends? Naruto I thought you were better than that."Sai replied shaking his head. Naruto growled.

_Argh the bastard is enjoying this!_

"Oh come on Sai please?" Naruto was a second and one of Sai's creepy smiles away from just giving the boy a good ol' fashion beating.

"Okay Naru-chan," Naruto shivered at that name but didn't say a word. "This'll be our dirty little secret." Naruto was glad Sai left before he could hurl.

"Damn that guy gives me the creeps!"

~~~~~next period~~~~~

"...and another thing, how dare that wench lay her filthy hand on you?! I'll be calling our lawers to sue her out of everthing she has!" Hinata sat quietly while her cousin finished his spiel about the days events. It seemed every single this down to where her locker was had gone wrong. According to Neji, Hinata had the wrong teachers, classes and friends. Hinata tuned back in to see what else had gone wrong.

"Did you see the way Inuzuka looked at you? I could have ripped his -"

"Nee-san! Stop it Kiba-kun is a really nice person." Hinata snapped Neji out of demon mode. He could go for hours dissecting a person and their flaws.

"Hmph." Neji crossed his arms.

"Please don't sue anyone Neji it's not even the second day!Oplease? I'm fine. I'm happy!" Neji glanced toward his cousin and sighed. _What a child_. Then he turned back to his work.

The two of then were in art. Hinata was relieved to see that none of her boisterous friends were in this class. Not because she didn't want to spend time with them but because art was something that she took very seriously. Right now she was doing a sketch for a painting she was going to do later on. For her first project she was asked to depict scenery of a real life place. She had to take a picture of the place, write a little blurb of what it meant to her and then draw or paint it. Most of the students were brainstorming where to base their project but Hinata knew the place by heart. She was going to do her place. The only place on the world she was free from the name Hygua. Neji and Hinata had decided that they would try their best to keep their name a secret. The daughter of one of the richest men in Japan going to a public school in a small town? News reporters would swarm Konoha High like bees. Anyway Hinata wanted to be herself. She didn't want to have to act a certain way or have her friends treating her like a princess like all the maids, butlers and servants back home.

Hinata decided to empty her mind and pour herself into her work. Sketching and erasing and standing back to examine her work and then shaking her head 'no' at hundreds of little details she failed to capture.

"I know that place," Hinata heard behind her. She turned around and there was Sasuke. Once again she had failed to notice him. This time it was because of Neji's rant. Hinata hoped her friend didn't overhear Neji's rant about him and their other friends. She wouldn't be surprised if he did. Neji was surprisingly loud when he was seconds away from suing the entire school.

"You do?"

"Yeah," Sasuke pointed to a tree in the picture, "If you walk a little past here there is a small pond right?" Hinata gasped.

"You do know it!"

"It was a little hard to tell from the sketch." Hinata crossed her arms and her eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.

"Sasuke-kun I go here everyday I think I can remember it." Hinata tried not to raise her voice or get annoyed.  
_It's okay Sasuke-kun didn't mean it like that._ Hinata told herself mentally taking a deep breath.

Sasuke noticed her slight irritation and smirked. _Let's see where this goes._

"I didn't mean that I just meant like there's only so much you can do to portray it as an amature. Good job." Sasuke placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder and Hinata swiftly brushed it off.

"Amature?" Hinata mumbled slowly. _How dare he! Let's see his work. Clam down Hinata he doesn't know your ability it's only natural that he assumes you're like everybody else in the class._ "I have been practicing daily since I was a child I think I might be a little better than that."

Sasuke looked at Hinata directly in the eyes when he said," Hinata if you've been working for that long and this is your best effort maybe it's time to call it quits." Hinata blew up.

"Well fine then if I don't meet your standard why don't you just do the project for me Mr. Perfect!" Hinata was tearing up. Sasuke put his hands over his mouth to try to stop his laughter but he failed.

"Haha Hinata you're face hahaha you were trying so hard not to slap me," Sasuke held his abdomen and just kept laughing. Hinata was confused. Sasuke had just insulted her and her work, made her cry and now he was laughing? Hinata was pouting. Somehow she knew he was making fun of her. Done laughing, Sasuke moved his face closer to Hinata's and wiped a small tear that had formed.

"Sorry Hinata," he said with a smile. Then he poked her forehead.

Hinata sighed," Sasuke-kun," she wined, weakly pounding on his chest. Suddenly Hinata smirked. She turned around facing her back to him.

"I can't believe you would do that Sasuke-kun, your mean." Hinata held in a giggle when Sasuke turned her around concered. When he did she was ready and painted a fat blue line on his forehead.

"Hehe don't mess with me!" Hinata snickered and stuck her tongue out. Hinata had to admit she felt great. She would have never said anything like that or done anything as childish as sticking her tongue out before. Due to all the classes and tutors Hinata never had a chance to be a child. Even in her own home she was constantly being watched.

Sasuke was dumbfounded this isn't what he had planned but there was no way he was going to let her get the upper hand. He walked over to the table and selected a brush then carefully dipped it into a light purple paint.

"Oy Hinata," he taunted holding up the brush. Hinata's eyes went wide.

"Sasuke-ku-,"'Sasuke didn't let he finish. In seconds he whipped the paint off the brush and globs of purple soared through the air onto Hinata's cheek and nose. Hinata picked up the brush with blue paint and prepared for an all out war.

"Hinata." Hinata was snapped out of her battle mode by her cousin's voice. She hid the wet brush behind her like a little kid and blushed at how childish she had been. Hinata looked up to see Sasuke working on his project like nothing had happened.

"Go get cleaned up." Neji demanded like he was talking to a 2nd grader. On her way out Hinata glanced back to see Sasuke smirking at her. She paused to stick her tongue out at him and he made the shoo shoo move with his hand earning him a 'humph'.

After watching her walk out Sasuke slipped out a small piece of paper from his pocket and put a check on 'step two'.

"Good luck, Hygua." he whispered to himself folding the paper back up.

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Sorry its a bit late I had to study for a summer exam... bleg. I have a lot of secrets and things I still have to reveal so stay tuned :) oh and sorry if was hard to follow the thoughts :P


	6. Carried Away

So this chapter will wrap up the first day at school and after that the structure will be a little faster with the pace. As always I await your feedback.

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Carried Away

Ten Ten scanned the hallway and it wasn't long before she spotted a blurb of dark hair surrounded by three boys. The brunette sighed and approached the group.

"Hey Naruto," she overheard Kiba growl," Don't you have something do be doing? Stop pestering her!"

"I'm the pest? You're the one that's been following her like a lost puppy!" Ten Ten noticed Hinata trying to cut into their bickering long enough for them to notice they were blocking her locker. The Uchiha was fiddling with her hair looking bored.

"Oy!" Ten Ten yelled. Kiba and Naruto turned to her. "Can't you see that your blocking Hinata-chan's locker?" They glanced to Hinata to confirm Ten Ten's accusation. The quiet girl nodded slightly and the boys quickly parted opening up the way to her locker.

"Geeze guys give the girl a break!" Naruto and Kiba averted their eyes and Ten Ten rolled hers putting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips.

_What is up with them? She's been here for 4 hours and they're all over her._

"Any way Hinata-chan I just wanted to ask if you were going to participate in the volleyball game. It's going to be apart of the welcome back festival." Hinata's eyes glowed.

"Festival?" she asked excitedly. Everybody turned to her and she blushed.

"Yeah every year on the first Friday of school there is some sort of demonstration by the student council," Naruto cut in. Hinata imagined herself performing in the show. She had never been part of this kind of organized event and she was looking forward to it.

"I asked Sakura and Ino and they said they would play volleyball but we need three other people," Hinata expressed. Kiba opened his mouth to come to Hinata's rescue but was beaten by Naruto.

"Well why didn't you ask?! Everybody knows that I'm the school's number one when it comes to sports!" he exaggerated. What else could he say with Hinata's eyes sparking looking up at him expectantly.

"Okay then I'm assuming you two are joining too?" Ten Ten inquired. Sasuke gave a court nod but Kiba turned his response into a production.

"Well obviously! There's no way I'd leave my darling flower with these savages!" Kiba wrapped his arm around Hinata's shoulders and she let out a small yelp of surprise.

"I'll give you three seconds Inuzuka!" the group turned their attention to Neji who was swiftly making his way to the group from down the hall. Kiba sighed and lifted his arm off raising it like he was at gunpoint. He might aswell have been the way Neji was glaring at him. Hinata was just surprised that Neji had shown that much restraint in his words.

"Hinata were leaving." Neji said without warning and pulled her away from her friends.

"Onii-san wa- wait I still h-have to..." Hinata stammered trying to talk to Neji while also escaping his grip. The others just stood by and watched.

"Hinata tell Sakura and Ino to meet us in the gym afterschool tomorrow for some training!" Naruto shouted to a disappearing Hinata. He got a thumbs up from her to confirm she got his he let out a sigh and turned back to Sasuke and Kiba. Ten Ten had already left. Nobody said anything but there was obviously an air of tension. They were all going after the same girl. They each waited for someone else to break the silence. In the end it was Naruto.

"So..." he voiced awkwardly.

"Lets skip over the awkward small talk and get on with what we're inevitably going to discus," Sasuke grumbled still leaning against Hinata's locker. Naruto opened his mouth to give the 'I'm better than you guys' speech but Kiba swooped in with the 'Girls love me' speech.

"Hinata is so close to breaking I know it. There is no way she can ignore my...," Kiba ruffled his hair and smirked at the boys," I mean just look at me."

"Pft what do even know about her?" Naruto retorted.

"Look who is talking dobe," Sasuke interjected. "Have you even had a full conversation with her?"

Naruto blushed," W-well I..."

"Hmph just make sure you have my money," he ordered and stalked away.

"Damn Sasuke he's so conceited," Kiba commented.

"Look who's talking!" Naruto pointed out. Kiba scoffed and took off in the opposite direction as his other friend leaving Naruto behind. Naruto frowned while thinking to himself.

_I guess Sasuke has a point. I'm the one who doesn't know anything about her._

_"_Well it's not to late!" Naruto yelled out punching the air.

~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~

"Onii-san where are we going? My next class isn't this way is it?" Hinata said glancing at the school map and turning it every single direction possible. Neji let out an exasperated sigh but decided to keep where they were going a secret.

_If I tell her we're going home she'll probably run away._

The two cousins walked out of the school's front doors and into the parking lot. Neji opened the door for his cousin and waited for her to get in.

"Where are we going?" Hinata asked suspiciously.

"Just get in please."

"Where are we going?"

"Hinata..."

"Neji?" He took a deep breath and squeezed his forehead bracing himself for a long argument.

"Please just get in I'll tell you on the way." Hinata gave up and sat in the passenger's seat. Neji went around, got in and started the car.

"Are we coming back?" Hinata inquired ready to hop out if she didn't like the answer.

"Yes we are." Neji lied. He backed out of the parking space and took a left out of the school. Hinata gasped.

"We're going home aren't we," she whispered. Neji had never seen his cousin look so disappointed.

"Hinata don't you remember your promise with uncle? Your number one priority isn't school. It's to prepare for taking over Hygua Corp. Hiashi-sama will only allow you to attend school as long as you're the top in the school and you come back home after lunch for your lessons." Hinata neither knew where to start her rebuttal nor when she made this promise.

"What about my teachers? Won't they just think I'm cutting class?"

"That has already been taken care of." Hinata regretted underestimating the power of the name Hyuga.

"What am I supposed to tell my friends?" Hinata voiced quietly. Neji felt bad for her. She had a huge burden on her shoulders but, he had to show her the reality of the situation.

"Hinata at any moment you could be pulled out of this school by your dad to run a branch of the company. I don't know what you were expecting from this school situation but, please don't get carried away."

"But I don't want to run father's buis-"

"It was decided at birth; it's inevitable. A Hyuga will always be a Hyuga no matter how many of these small town folks you surround your self with." Hinata was shocked. Shocked at how much of her life she had forgotten in a matter of hours. Neji was right. Just because she was going to a regular school with regular people, she was by no means any less Hyuga. She didn't even have the strength to reply to him. She just winded the window down and stared at the people passing her by.

"Lucky," she whispered.

Neji turned into the compound that could only be described as a mansion. Even so, they had another 4 houses around Japan much bigger that Hiashi stayed in when he went for week long business trips. Hinata noticed her father's personal limo parked alongside the other cars.

"He's back..." she muttered with disbelief. Although Hinata didn't have the best relationship with her father she was still happy he was back safely. Hinata got out of the car and ignored the 'welcome back Hinata-san' that she received from the entire staff every time she came back from anywhere. She removed her shoes and a maid swiftly picked them up. Then she knocked on the door of her father's private study room where she knew he would be.

"Who is it?" Hinata hated the harsh voice her father had. It was the source of her nightmares for years. After her mom died Hinata used to dream that her dad was taken over by a monster. He never smiled after that. He became distant and left the raising of his two daughters to maids and tutors.

"I-it's Hinata father," she could never speak to him comfortably even when she couldn't see him.

"Enter." Hinata cracked the door open and hesitated.

"Well? I have business to attend to come in!" He snapped. Hinata quickly walked in and shut the door. Then she took a seat on one of the cushions across from her father.

"Thank you for putting me in school," she began," Today I had a lot of fun." Hinata smiled thinking about her new friends. "I made some friends as-"

"Friends? Fun? Is this going to be waste of money!? I didn't put you in school for those things! You're there strictly to experience working with associates, something you need real life experience to master." Hinata flinched and every ounce of confidence she gained dissipated from her. Her father made a wave with his hand and Hinata was dismissed. The second she left the room Hikaru was running her through the scheduled for the rest of the day. Apparently she was 3 minute late for her first appointment. Hinata once again allowed herself to be dragged around.

_Is this my fate? Can't I have happiness?_

~~~~~at school~~~~~

"What you mean Neji took her away?!" Sakura yelled at Naruto.

"I mean just that! He said 'lets go' and they disappeared," Naruto shouted back cowering from Sakura's wrath. The two friends were sitting in 'quiet study' wondering where Hinata had run off to.

_Hinata doesn't strike me as the kind of girl to skip class... and on the first day! Something isn't right._

* * *

Well there you go! Sorry for the long wait and its a bit short:P


	7. Princess

Newest chapter woohoo I'm so ready to bring on the drama in the next few chapters so get pumped! Todays chapter is... well I'll let you find out yourselves hehe

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Princess

"You're what?!" Neji boomed squeezing the bridge of his nose and willing himself to regain composure. It was the second day of Hinata's new school arrangement and Neji was starting to regret supporting her. Hinata was wearing exercise cloths; a tee shirt and spandex and had her hair tied up in a pony tail courtesy of Hikaru.

"I'm already done with all my lessons for today and I promised I would be there. I'm also the one who asked them to do it." While Hinata was packing her things, she was arguing with Neji about whether she should go or not.

"I admire you wanting to support the school by participating in the volleyball game but do you even know anything about volleyball?" Neji looked firmly into his cousin's creamy eyes.

"Ill learn," Hinata replied optimistically. Neji sighed again. "Plus you're going to be playing in the game too right? Ten Ten told me the game is the student council versus us. Won't it be fun?" Neji cursed Ten Ten under his breath for sharing his secret.

"Fine," Neji complied wearily. "I'll take you but only for an hour. I have work to do." Hinata smiled knowing she had won and the two teens left the house and began the ten minute drive to the school. The drive had been mostly silent with Neji's occasional huffing but Hinata enjoyed the comforting quietness. When they arrived the excited girl didn't even let her companion park the car. The second he slowed down to turn into a parking space she hopped out and was briskly walking to the door leaving a startled Neji behind. Hinata practically skipped to the gym. Although she was 10 minutes early she wanted to be the first one there. Much to her dismay, all of her friends had already arrived.

"Oy Hinata!" Naruto shouted from across the room. He was wearing an orange head band that said 'fight' three times in capital letters that he made and was waving for her to come over.

"Hi Naruto-kun," she replied making her way over to the bunch. She turned to greet Kiba and Sasuke but, Sakura, who had appointed herself team captain interrupted the conversation.

"Okay guys,"she began," Who here knows anything about volleyball?" The gym was filled will an eerie silence. Even Naruto and Ino who were generally outspoken kept quiet. Sakura put her hands on her hips and sighed. "Then we have a lot of work to do!" Hinata's heart thumped with excitement and a fire of determination burned in her eyes.

_I won't let my friends down!_

"First off we have to know who were up against. Ino..." Sakura gestured to her childhood friend to share the information she had gathered with the group.

"This years Student Council is compromised of Ten Ten, Neji, Lee, Karin, Sai and Shikamaru. Our major threats are Lee, who is also the captain of the martial arts team and Ten Ten who is said to have 100% accuracy in every sport she plays. The only reason Shikamaru is on the council is so he can be excused early from class on Fridays; I doubt the lazy guy will hit the ball once. Karin is probably going to be spiking a lot since she has a hell of a good slap." Ino finished her debriefing leaving the other's stunned.

"Ino where the frick did you get all that info," Kiba asked mystified. Ino grinned.

"Don't underestimate the Queen of Konoha High," she declared laughing menically. Naruto and Sasuke both shivered at her evil laugh and looked at each other both thinking:

_She's crazy._

Hinata tried to process all the information but, her head was spinning. Sakura looked at the team she had to work with: Naruto was cowering in fear of Ino who was laughing like a mad woman, Kiba was on the phone flirting with some girl, and Sasuke looked bored out of his mind.

_That leaves Hinata_.

"Alright were going to do 3vs3 as a practice. Girls on this side boys on the other side," Sakura said bouncing the ball. She waited for the boys to get onto their side of the net and began explaining the rules. "Okay each side has three hits a bump a set and a spike." Sakura gave the ball to Ino and the blonde tossed it to her friend so she could demonstrate the three moves. Naruto and Kiba clapped on the other side of the court thoroughly inpressed. "Okay I'm going to serve the ball to you guys. Try to use all three hits to get it back over to us." Sakura lightly served the ball and it landed in between Sasuke and Naruto.

"Hey baka weren't you listening? You were supposed to get it?"

"What! That was right next to you teme!"

"Hey you both suck next time make an effort!" Kiba barked. Sakura slapped her forehead and watched all three boys bicker. She grabbed another ball from the cart.

"Okay we're going to try again this time if your going to get it, call the ball." Sakura served the ball once more.

"Mine!" Naruto yelled. He attempted a 'bump' but failed miserably. The ball flew right into the net, ricocheted off and shot into Kiba's gut.

"Damn you Uzumaki!" Kiba cried out holding his gut. Ino burst out laughing but, Hinata rushed to Kiba's side.

"Are you okay Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked worried. Kiba was almost in too much pain to use the moment as an opportunity to flirt. Almost.

"I'll be okay," Kiba began grabbing Hinata's hands," as long as your here." Kiba's eyes sparkeled at max power but, he still fell short. Hinata turned to address Sakura and completely forgot about poor Kiba.

"Sakura-chan how about we change teams? They seem a bit... uneven." What Hinata really meant was Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba we're going to kill each other if they're all on the same side of the net. Sakura understood the girl talk and switched the teams.

"Okay good idea. How about Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto on one side and Me, Kiba and Ino on ther other?" The teams reassembled and Sakura was about to serve again when she saw Naruto pull Sasuke and Hinata in for a team meeting.

"Alright guys whats the plan?" Naruto whispered to his teammates.

"There is no plan dobe we just have to get the ball over the net," Sasuke retorted. Naruto was about to start an argument when Hinata interjected.

"Hold on Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun may have a point," Naruto smirked at Sasuke who turned away from his friend. "How about this?" Hinata quickly explained the plan to her friends and the two boys smirked.

"Nice Hinata!" Naruto approved. Sasuke gave a quick nod.

"Are you guys finally ready?" Sakura inquired. Not waiting for an answer, she served the ball over the net for the third time. This time neither boys made a move to get the ball. It was Hinata who stepped forward.

"I got it," she declared confidently. She softly hit the ball in a bump. A second after the ball made contact with her arms she shouted," Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke reacted quickly and he set the ball neatly to Naruto.

"Baka," he voiced calmly, addressing his friend. Naruto was already in mid air when he heard his 'name' being called.

"Shut up teme!" he roared as he spiked the ball onto the other side of the court. Sakura smirked. It was a good play but, wasn't about to lose to some newbies! She dove for the ball, bumped it up and shouted for her team mates help.

"Ino-pig!" Ino set the ball to Kiba.

"Yahoo!" He shouted when he spiked the ball back. Sasuke was the first to react to the spike. He coolly buffed the ball with his shoulder and yelled for Hinata to receive the pass.

"Good pass," Hinata stated as she herself set the ball to Naruto. The wild blond leapt into the air and smashed the ball hard back to his opponents. This time it was Kiba who dove to save the ball.

"Oh no you don't," he yelled as he hit the ball up ward to Ino. Ino swiftly set the ball to Sakura who was done holding back her power and spiked the ball with all her strength.

"Cha!" Her battle cry echoed through the gym. Sakura knew they had no chance of stopping her ultimate spike and she didn't expect them to try. Of course she was wrong. Naruto being the fool he is dove for the ball regardless of its speed.

"GRAH!" He shouted half in pain. He felt the ball burning his skin but Naruto countered Sakura's power with strength of his own. The ball shot up several feet in the air and Sasuke dashed towards it and set it to Hinata. Sakura, Ino and Kiba braced for her spike. The Hygua ran toward the ball and truck it with all the might she could muster.

"Eh!" She cried out. In an anti climatic and to the volley, the ball seemed to float down to the other side barely making it over the net. It causally bounced onto the floor of the other teams court with almost zero power. Then it bounced once more and rolled slightly to the left. All the teens were silent for what seemed like forever. Then the silence was broken by muffled snickers from Naruto and Sasuke. Hinata turned to see what was so funny and then Kiba, Sakura and Ino joined in the laughter.

"Haha that was so lame," Sasuke teased through chuckles. Ino on the other hand was crying from laughing so hard.

"Hahaha you looked so serious and then haha I can't I can't breath," she giggled rolling around holding her stomache.

"Hinata-chan your just too cute," Kiba pointed out wiping his eyes. Hinata blushed and pouted crossing her arms.

"I-I just," she stammered unable to respond. Sakura regained her compsure and complimented the other team.

"Any way guys you completely changed! What happened?" She asked curious about the transformation. Naruto chimed in.

"Well Hinata said we should try to think about what the other person would do and trust in their decisions. From there I guess we realized that we have to work as a team!" Naruto explained confidently.

"Well if we play like that on Friday maybe we won't loose," Kiba pointed out semi-optimistically. Hinata glanced at her new friends and smiled.

_How did I get so lucky? How was I able to meet such wonderful people?_

"How about we switch up the teams and do it again?" Ino proposed, rearing to go. The reaming five teens expressed their agreement and started their drill from scratch.

~~~~~20 minutes later~~~~~

"Come on forehead we're going to be late for work!" Ino shouted from her car. Sakura grabbed her water bottle and waved goodbye to Naruto and Hinata who were still waiting for their rides. Sasuke and Kiba had already left leaving Naruto and Hinata alone sitting on a bench in the front of the school.

_This is my chance! It's just us two!_ Naruto thought.

"I wonder where Neji is," Hinata wondered out loud," he was complaining that he had stuff to do and he's 15 minutes late." Hinata glanced at her watch again and sighed.

"Hey why don't I walk you home?" Naruto asked excitedly. He stood up not waiting for an answer and pulled Hinata up with him.

"Walk home? Do people do that?" She was fascinated. Naruto looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah I do since I don't have a car but, I wanted to hang out with you a bit!" Hinata blushed.

_He wants to hang out with me?_

Hinata tentatively told Naruto where she lived and they began the 30 minute walk to her house. Naruto filled up the walk with his stories about he and Sasuke had always gotten into fights in middle school and Sakura would always scold them for causing trouble. Hinata giggled at his stories and wondered what it would have benn like to go to school with Naruto back then.

"Hey Hinata I was wondering...Where do you always go after lunch?" Naruto suddenly changed the subject to a part of her life that Hinata didn't want him to know. She had practiced the lie thousands of times with Neji and in her bed at night but, she still fumbled with the words now that she was in the moment.

"S-Since I'm moved into a new house my father told the principal I could come home early for the first week to unpack." Hinata breathed a sigh of relief when she finished the sentence and looked up to see Naruto staring her down.

_He knows! He knows!_

"Oh that sucks! But I guess since you get to miss school it might be cool," he replied putting his hands behind his head. Hinata was glad he believed her but, she was also a bit confused.

"Why is missing school cool," she asked bewildered. For years she dreamed of going to school. To her school was the coolest thing ever. Naruto looked at his friend and couldn't help but blush at her expression.

_Why is she looking at me like I'm crazy for saying that?_

"Well um," he fumbled for a response, "Well there's homework and you have to sit and listen to people talk all day and well detention and stuff..." he droned off.

"Homework is only so you can learn and teachers just want you to do your best. Plus there is a lot of fun things to do after school with your friends,"she countered. Naruto was stunned. At this point the two of them had stopped walking.

_She talks like school is the only place she has fun..._

"Naruto-kun, if it wasn't for school I would have never met you! Even though I've only know you for a day I feel like we can become good friends." Hinata smiled. Her cheeks were painted with a rosy pink that matched her lips. Naruto's heart thumped hard and he squeezed his chest through his shirt as if to stop it.

"Naruto-kun are you okay?" Naruto snapped out of his trance and looked into Hinata's concerned eyes.

"Y-yeah I'm fine," he responded hiding his blush with the back of his hand. Then something else caught Hinata's attention.

"Your arm!" Hinata gasped placing her fingers on the arm he was using to hide his face. Naruto flinched from her touch causing her to pull away slightly. Then he turned his arm around to see what she was talking about.

_It must have been from when I stopped Sakura's spike._

"I'm okay its nothing major," he tried reassure her but, Hinata wasn't giving up. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small jar. Then she opened it and dipped her hand into the cream and motioned for Naruto to stick out his arm. "Really Hinata its not a big deal."

"Don't worry I made this myself from herbs in my garden. It'll sooth the pain but, it stings at first." Hinata applied the cream to his bruise and noticed him wincing at the sting. Naruto's face went red when she blew on his arm.

"I-its all better you don't have to blow,"he stammered secretly enjoying the feeling of her warm breath.

"Here you can keep this I have a lot more at home." Naruto thanked her and they continued the rest of the way in comforting silence.

~~~~~5 minutes later~~~~~

Hinata was glad that the gate concealed most of the mansion because Naruto would have been much more shocked than he was already.

"Woah you live here? Are you a princess or something," Naruto asked jokingly. He could only imagine what was on the other side of this massive gate. Hinata chuckled nervously.

_I might as well be._

"Thanks for walking me home Naruto-kun."

"No problem see you later Hinata!" Hinata watched Naruto continue on his way down the road to his house which was only a couple of minutes away according to him. When he was out of sight she pressed a button on the gate and imputed a password. Seconds later the gate was lifted to reveal a lavish front yard with a pond and gazebo in the mix, maids and butlers scattered about. She received the standard: "Welcome back Hinata-san" and sighed at the royal treatment.

_I might as well be._

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Phew done! Anyway there ya go slight time skip from the last chap and a little naruhina there for a certain person wink wink


	8. The Council

Hey everybody! I'm really really really REALLY sorry to be keeping you guys waiting for this long. The first few days of school were HECTIC! (and it didn't help that I was scrambling to finish my summer work :P). Anyways to make up for it today I'll be uploading not one…. But TWO chapters this weekend (don't get used to it though)! Eh eh who loves me?! Tell me you do by reviewing of course!

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The Council

Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba sat in complete silence. It was Thursday afternoon and they boys were sitting in deTention. The person overseeing them was none other than the principal herself. Tsunade glared at the boys if they so much as blinked. Naruto was afraid of opening his mouth let alone asking to go to the bathroom. Instead of trying his luck, the blonde looked back to Kiba and began to mouth an argument.

"This is all your fault dog breath!"

Kiba scoffed and rolled his eyes at his friend then fired back in silence.

"Yeah right you were the one who got us caught!" While Naruto and Kiba silently insulted each other for the next 15 minutes of deTention, Sasuke sat silently in the back of the class uninterested in joining the muted squabble.

~~~~~15 minutes later~~~~~

"Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba!" At their names the three guys sat up straight and folded their hands. Tsunade got up from her desk in the front of the room and addressed them. "Look, I have to watch you guys in deTention almost 3 days a week! Aren't you tired of being here? When will you grow up? I mean, peeping in the girls locker room, vandalizing school property? Come on!" Tsunade's face was turning an angry red color and she put her hand on her forehead. Naruto's face fell instantly when he heard the words 'grow up'.

_Won't I ever get any respect in this town? I'm almost seventeen! Isn't that grown up enough?_

"You're dismissed but, one of these days your pranks are going to really hurt someone." She finished. Then she pointed to the door for them to leave. Kiba and Sasuke did so with no hesitation, quickly bolting out of the room. Naruto sulkily followed his friends. "Oh Naruto I forgot I wanted to tell you." Naruto stopped at the door when he heard his name. "You need to get your grades up. With your marks you won't be going anywhere." He didn't even respond to her advice. Instead, Naruto bolted out of the class room following his friends.

"Screw good grades! I'm still young I have plenty of time!" Naruto yelled at himself marching down the empty halls with fervor.

~~~~~Meanwhile 1 hour earlier~~~~~

"Are you sure you want to come?" Neji asked for the fifth time. At this point Neji and Hinata had already arrived at their destination, the school. Hinata turned to her cousin exasperated and gave him the same answer she replied with four other times.

"Nii-san I said I was sure about 10 times," Hinata exaggerated. "I want to see what student council is like and-"

Neji cut her off," and it'll be a great experience. Yeah I know I'm just saying I'm not-"

This time Hinata cut him off," you're not sure that I'll be able to handle the inTensity. Yeah I know." Neji glared playfully at Hinata copying his mimic. This only made her burst out in giggles.

_When did she get so happy? She didn't use to show this much emotion…_

"Okay fine you win." Hinata smiled and clapped for the losing side. Neji sighed and reluctantly opened the door to the Student Council Room. He immediately regretted the decision.

"I'm telling you we need something more entertaining!" Hinata saw a boy with long blond hair yelling at Rock Lee.

"How could anything be more entertaining than a volleyball game? The sweat, the teamwork, its pure entertainment!" Lee yelled back with a glint in his eye. The other boy crossed his arms and replied back.

"Hmph what we need is art! Art is truly an explosion." Suddenly Hinata heard a voice from the corner of the room.

"Guys, stop this bickering we have a guest." At this the two boys turned away from each other almost instantly. She couldn't see the person but, she recognized his voice.

"Sasuke-kun…?" Hinata said to the voice searching the room for her friend. When she turned around she was looking into Sasuke's eyes. At a closer examination Hinata saw the sadness in these eyes. Sadness she herself knew too well.

_Who is he?_

"Hello angel, may I ask who you are?" He said in a deep voice. She was frozen. She couldn't even put a distance between them.

_Something is drawing me towards him. I can't stop looking at his eyes._

Hinata's heart thumped and she felt her cheeks reddening.

_Why I'm I so nervous?_

"I'm Itachi Uchiha," he introduced himself. Then he made a gesture with his hands for her to do the same.

"I'm Hinata it's a pleasure," Hinata replied. Then she bowed with poise.

"Hey Hinata-chan what are you doing here?" Hinata recognized Ten Ten's voice and she quickly moved away from the mystery man toward her friend.

"I'm with Neji nii-san. I'm just here to watch the meeting." Hinata turned around to scan the room for other familiar faces. She then realized that the entire room was silent and all eyes were on her. Embarrassed about her grand entrance earlier, Hinata willed herself to disappear. Finally Itachi broke the silence.

"Why don't we all take our seats," he commanded politely. Without complaint, everyone stopped mingling and found a seat at the table in the center of the room. Itachi waited patiently for everyone to be seated with his hands folded in front of his face and his elbows on the table. "We are going to go around the table say our names, grade and something we like to do." The he nodded across the table for Ten Ten to start.

"My name is Ten Ten I'm in 10th grade and I like to play sports," the brunette stated smiling friendly. The girl sitting next to her introduced herself next.

"Hi my name is Karin I'm in 10th grade and I love to shop," she said pushing up her glasses with a perfectly manicured nail. Hinata stared at the new face for a while. She admired Karin's long red hair and perfect ruby red lips. Hinata remembered Ino saying that Karin was a snob but, she couldn't see where Ino got that from.

Hinata tuned out for the people she already knew; Lee, Shikamaru, Neji and Sai. When it came to her turn Hinata tried to explain that she wasn't part of the council but, Itachi insisted that she introduce herself.

"Well I'm Hinata, I'm in 10th grade and I like…music." There was an awkward silence in the room after she spoke. No one knew that would be the quite before the storm. Suddenly, two upperclassmen from the table jumped up.

"Music?!" They shouted in unison. The two boys began to crawl towards Hinata from the other side of the table. When they reached Hinata, they each placed a hand on her shoulder and she jumped startled. Neji on the other hand already felt sick to his stomach before they even began to explain.

"Sasori my man are you thinking the same thing as me?" The blond looked at Sasori for conformation.

"Um… what exactly is going on," Hinata asked confused. Neji watched the scene equally baffled.

_What are these people up too? _

Itachi spoke up," Deidara, Sasori get back to you seats and stop harassing her." Deidara didn't make a move; he never liked lisTening to Itachi.

Sasori, back in his seat said, "Hey Uchiha I think we found a solution to the problem. But if we're going to make this work we have to act now." Itachi pondered this for a while.

"Okay let's hear it."

~~~~~5 minutes later~~~~~

Hinata was astounded. How did they get that entire plan from her saying she likes music?

"Okay yeah yeah this is a good plan but, you guys are forgetting something. Will the princess over there go along with it?" The entire room turned to Shikamaru who they all thought was sleeping. Realizing he had a point they then turned heir atTention to Hinata.

"He's right," Neji observed," there is no way Hin-"

"Sure." Hinata spoke in a soft voice. All eyes were on her and she confirmed her participation louder," I would love to help you guys."

~~~~~10 minutes later~~~~~

Neji sighed for about the 50th time and slapped his forehead for about the 20th time in the past 5 minutes. He was working on props for the 'big plan' with Ten Ten. The council split up to maximize efficiency and he couldn't stop worrying about leaving his cousin in the hands of his seniors.

"Would you stop sighing already!? Hinata-chan is fine." Ten Ten half yelled.

_If he sighs one more time I'm going to go crazy!_

Suddenly Neji found himself opening up to a stranger, "It's just that… how could she even accept the job?" Ten Ten looked at his pouty face and almost laughed.

"Look you know her the best right? I think you know why she said yes."

He thought for a moment," You're right I know exactly why." She smiled at him and he couldn't help notice how cute she was.

Hinata sat in silence as chaos ensued around her. The two upperclassmen Deidara and Sasori were at it again. While they bickered Shikamaru was curled up in the corner of the room obviously asleep.

"Look Sasori you call that art?" Deidara gestured towards a beautifully carved puppet. "No,no this is art," then he unveiled a sculpture of a majestic bird made with white clay. Hinata was equally mystified by both works.

"Did you guys make these? That's amazing!" The two boys looked at each other puzzled. "May I see that?" Hinata put her hand out and carefully caressed the clay. Then she handed it back to Deidara and reached for the puppet. "These are so wonderful. I used to think I was decent at carving and sculpting but… this is amazing. This school has such wonderful senpai's." Hinata smiled brightly. Deidara and Sasori blushed at her compliments.

_Woah…she's kind of cute._ Sasori thought.

_Senpai... I could get used to that. _Thought Deidara.

"Anyway," Deidara began, putting Sasori's puppet away," This is what I thought we could do." He handed Sasori and Hinata pieces of paper with his notes about the plan. Hinata read the first senTence and gasped at the vulgar language and graphic details.

"Oy! What do you think you're doing giving Hinata-hime something like this?" Sasori snatched the paper away from her before she could be scarred for life and coolly tossed it into the trash. Then he flipped his hair and started to work his magic. Sasori ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook and scribbled a few lines. Then he rapped his arm around Hinata and handed her the paper. "THIS, my friend is the answer to our problems." Deidara looked oer Hinata's shoulders to see what all the fuss was about. He soon found out it was just fuss.

"Ha you call that art?! We might as well go back to the bushy brow freaks plan." Deidara roughly pushed Hinata out of the way and grabbed Sasori''s paper. Then he shredded it into a million pieces and threw it all over his friend. Hinata saw a fight brewing and she stepped in before someone got punched.

"Deidara, Sasori you both have really good ideas lets just pull it into one big thing how about we do...this..." Hinata began to write her own version and motioned for the boys to look it over. The blond crossed his arms and nodded approvingly and the red head smirked satisfied and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Okay then lets get to it!" Deidara roared rearing to go.

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Sorry for the super long wait and I'm no trying to digress from the actual plot every chapter is important to the end. :)


	9. Kiba: The Note

Hey! So this is a Kiba short it'll explain what the note Kiba gave Hinata was all about. If you want to wait like 2 chapters you'll find out. If you're in the mood for some one on one with Kiba... READ AWAY. It doesn't really spoil anything major.

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Kiba: The Note

Kiba paced back and forth in his room. He stopped every 10 seconds to scratch his head pondering an idea and then shaking his head 'no' at the thought. Kiba's dog Akamaru watched his owner and friend, worried and he barked and whined with concern.

"Yeah I know buddy but, there has to be a way for me to get a head in this damn game!" Kiba stopped pacing and plopped onto his thinking chair; a beat up bean bag in the corner of his room that his mom begged for him to throw away. Akamaru trotted over and snuggled into Kiba whining.

"I already tried everything! She's a professional! Obviously used to handsome, gentlemen like myself." Kiba replayed all his attempts to fluster her.

_All failures!_

"It's not likes she's easily embarrassed or anything. It just makes me mad that the only time I've seen her blush is when that baboon Naruto acts childish," Kiba told Akamaru. The dog looked up at his master and licked the troubled boy's face.

_Childish Naruto..._

"Akamaru I've got it!" Kiba jumped up from the bean bag and went to his drawer. There he rummaged for a piece of paper and pen.

"Hinata only seems to respond to less poised advances like Naruto's. So I'll write her a note and ask her to go to town with me on Saturday. It's full proof because it's so simple," Kiba smirked to himself. "God I'm brilliant," he thought begining his note. Attempt one read,"

Hinata I can't stop thinking about you. Will you go out with me this saturday? Meet me in front of the ice cream shop on leaf avenue at 11:30."

Kiba re read the message and ripped it up in disgust. "This is Hinata were talking about not one of my random hookup girls! This has to be innocent... think Naruto!" Kiba pumped himself up and prepared for round two. His next try read,"

I'm looking forward to being good friends with you this year. Let's hang out this Saturday at 11:30. Meet in front of the ice cream shop for a day of fun! :D."

Kiba examined his work and nodded approvingly.

"There is no way she'll say no to this!" Kiba smilled giddily and ran to his closet to pick out an outfit for maximum seduction. In the midst of deciding between two shirts he came to a screeching halt.

"What am I doing?!" He threw the clothes back in his closet and shut the door panting. "I'm acting like a teenage girl in love!"

"Well you are one aren't you?" Kiba shrieked when he saw his older sister standing in the doorway. "Writing love letters, caring about the way you look? I never thought I'd live to see the say the mighty Kiba settle down." She clapped jokingly and Kiba snarled at her.

"Shut up! You know me! The last think I want to do is be tied down. This is just another game with me and the boys." Kiba quickly shoved the note in his pocket and began to go about his business like nothing happened.

"I give you a week. Make sure you bring her over for dinner!" She said taunting him in a sweet voice.

"Shut up and get out!"


	10. In Over Our Heads?

Does anyone mind if I update every other week? I never knew how hard it was to balance writing for fun and 11th grade homework…. Are there any strong objectors to this? Also am I giving to many details should I just move on with the plot here or do you guys like this slow pace…. TELL ME cause I'm writing this story for you! YES you specifically! The person reading this right now.

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In Over Our Heads?

"Naruto, here!" Sakura yelled setting the ball towards her friend.

"I got it!" The boy leapt into the air and smashed the ball to the other team. Ten Ten and Neji both dove for the ball but, collided into each other instead. In that split second, the referee blew the whistle to signal that the game was over.

"And the winner is team Naruto!" The entire gym roared with applause. Then Sasuke and Kiba lifted up Naruto to celebrate his winning spike.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

"Oh thank you you're too kind!" He shouted back to his fans blowing kisses and waving. Naruto noticed a petite figure among the crowd waving him over and he asked his friends to put him down. He then opened his arms wide for Hinata to jump into.

"Naruto- kun you were so cool," she whispered into his ear. He suavely lifted her chin with his finger and leaned in for a kiss. Naruto swore he could taste cotton candy in his mouth after the kiss with Dream Hinata.

"Ah….," he moaned and tossed in his bed trying to get back to sleep. The groggy boy squinted his eyes when sun light shined through his windows and into his room. Today was Friday, the day of the assembly. Naruto had a wonderful dream in which he was the star of the game; he was fairly certain that wasn't how things would go. Turning back towards his night stand, Naruto stared aimlessly at the mess of papers and wrappers. He slowly sat up in his bed and began shifting the trash off of the table and onto the floor.

"Where is that stupid alarm clock?" he mumbled still feeling sleep deprived. Frustrated, he finally got up in search of the clock only to crush it under his size 10 feet.

"Aw crap!" Not bothering to clean up the shards of plastic, the blond left his messy room behind and slowly trekked over to the kitchen.

"Cereal, milk, pour, spoon, eat," he said in monotony. He slowly lifted up the spoon to his mouth and slurped up the bland breakfast. Two bites in Naruto choked a bit, startled from a loud banging coming from his door.

"Dobe! What are you doing in there?! Get out!"

"Naruto you baka! Get out here before I break the door down!"

Naruto yelled back to the voices," Calm down I'm coming!" He quickly swiped the crumbs from his mouth and shuffled to the door. The moment he unlocked it Sakura was pulling his ear down and facing him with a pissed expression.

"What's all the-"

"Shut up Naruto do you have any idea what time it is?! The volleyball match starts in 15 minutes! Sakura yelled into Naruto's face while Sasuke stood off to the side glad he wasn't the one in trouble.

"That's- I- But," Naruto stammered. He didn't know he had overslept that much.

"Kiba and Ino are back at school trying to stall everyone so let's not waste time," Sasuke commanded knowing that if Sakura got started he was the only one who would be able to intervene. Naruto just nodded still shocked about the problem he caused.

"I'll be right there!"

~~~~~1 hour earlier~~~~~

"Hanabi you're not coming. You have lessons to attend. In fact your first tutor will be here in 25 minutes." Hanabi glared at her sister and cousin from across the table. They were all enjoying another perfect breakfast when Neji brought up the volleyball match. After a lot of questioning, Hanabi realized that her two siblings would be spending the entire day having fun at their Welcome Back Ceremony. For twenty minutes the three went around in a circle debating whether or not Hanabi could tag along.

Finally, Neji stood up and made his position crystal clear.

"Look, you're not going. Hinata and I both have other things to do so we can't babysit you and-" Hanabi rudely interrupted her cousin.

"I didn't want to be this way but you leave me no choice," Hanabi rose from her seat and reveled an envelope. She flashed it in front of them and they sunk instantly. Hinata hated when her sister used embarrassing pictures as a way to get what she wanted. "Anyway, Hikaru will be with me so it'll be okay," she said smiling coyly. Neji turned to Hikaru and noticed her embarrassed expression as she bent down to collect their plates and hustled back into the kitchen.

_Does this girl have dirt on EVERYBODY?_

Five minutes later the three of them were in Neji's car on their way to the school. Neji had to park the car on the side of the street like many other students to make way for the booths set up for various school clubs in the parking lot. The three teens walked a small distance to school from the car. The second Hinata walked through the school gates she was mesmerized. Unfamiliar smells of unhealthy foods she never had the chance to try filled her nostril and made her mouth water. She tentatively stepped on a painted path way of splattered colors and swirled designs and made her way to each of the booths slowly.

"Neji-kun, Hanabi-chan what do you think this is? She accepted a shish-kebab of meat from a student behind a booth and curiously but, elegantly bit into it. The boy behind the table watched her to see the reaction to his cooking. Hinata gasped.

"What is it too salty?! Gosh I knew I shouldn't have added that extra…." The boy stopped talking when he noticed her expression. Her eyes were closed and her eyebrows were scrunched up as if she was hurt. "Are you okay? I,"

Hinata's eyes shot open and she reached into the booth and grabbed the boy's hands. "Never, ever stop cooking!" She commanded. Then she skipped across the pained path to a new booth. Neji and Hanabi watched Hinata float around childishly and laughed at the boy's taken aback expression.

"Please excuse her she's new here," Neji said handing him money for her snack and smiling towards his cousin's direction.

Once Hinata entered the school she heard Tsunade's voice on the intercom addressing all of the students.

_All 9__th__ grade homeroom teachers please report to the Assembly Room with your students at this time. In 5 minutes 10__th __grade homerooms will be going to the Assembly Room. All grade 10, 11 and 12 students participating in the Welcome Back Ceremony report to the Assembly Room or the Gymnasium; you should all know where you're going._

About 10 seconds later Hinata was swept into a sea of students she didn't know. She followed the crowd to the meeting place and glanced around for any of her posy.

"Oy Hinata-chan over here!" Hinata turned toward Kiba's voice. Standing in the corner was Sasuke, Sakura and Ino along with him. Relieved to have found them so quickly, Hinata trotted over to her friends.

"Hinata we can't find Naruto anywhere!" Sakura started not beating around the bush. Hinata took a moment to digest this and the replied.

"He probably overslept," she guessed receiving nods of approval about her conjecture from everyone else. "How much time do we have before the match?" Ino glanced at her phone.

"About 30/40 minutes," she estimated. Hinata thought once again and then hit her palm with her fist; the universal sign for an instant fix.

"Okay Sakura and Sasuke you guys go and get him while we stay behind and stall if necessary." Hinata smiled to herself.

_There is no way this day is going to go wrong! I just have to stay composed._

~~~~~20 minutes later~~~~~

"So once again I hope that this year you really make the school yours. Take charge because it's your future. Thank you." Itachi concluded his speech as the President of the 12th grade and kindly requested for the all the students to exit by homeroom and go to the gymnasium for a 'special event'.

"I got a call from Sakura, they're on their way with that baboon Naruto," Ino explained setting the ball to Kiba. Both teams were getting warmed up for the game on each side of the net. Ino glanced wearily at the students slowly filing in.

_The game starts in 5 minutes and we're missing half of our team!_

"Wow Ino where is the other half of your team?" Karin asked mockingly from the other side of the net. She was wearing super tight and super short spandex with a black tee that said "super hot" on the back in all capitals. Ino resisted the urge to spit on the floor near her. She wouldn't have minded doing it in front of all her peers but, the Welcome Back ceremony is always broadcasted live to the local Konoha channel and seen by a lot of people. The juniors and seniors usually watch the ceremony and events from the junior/senior lounge but, they can come see it live if they don't have class or their teacher doesn't mind.

"Shut up Karin, I don't want to see hear your high-pitched voice any more than I have too," Ino retorted turning away before things got ugly. Hinata saw Itachi and some other guys she recognized from the council approach the teams. He quickly glanced at Hinata and gave her and warm smile and then turned to everybody and was back to business.

"Are we ready to start?" Itachi scanned the court on the student council side and saw nods of agreement. When he turned to Hinata's side the three members all avoided eye contact.

"Where is the rest of your team," he asked Hinata. The girl slowly lifted her head to meet his oxen stare.

"There on their way," Ino answered for her friend. Itachi turned toward Ino and then glanced at the crowd of hundreds of chatting students.

"Well, tell them to hurry up." Just then Naruto burst through the gymnasium door obnoxiously, panting with Sakura and Sasuke behind him. Kiba grinned at his friend.

"Look who decided to show up! Come on let's go people!" Kiba clapped for his friends to hurry over. The Student Council President acknowledged Naruto with a slight nod and tapped on the announcers shoulder to begin addressing the crowd.

"Who is ready to witness the most historical volleyball match ever?!" The crowd roared with impatience.

~~~~~after the game~~~~~

"I can't believe we won!"

"I was just about to say that."

"Hey I knew we would win."

"Says the guy that couldn't get here on time!" Everybody laughed at Sasuke's comment except for Naruto who was fake sulking. The excited bunch was lingering around the gym waiting for the students to leave. The other team had left earlier except for Neji and Ten Ten who stuck by to converse with their friends.

"Yo princess!"

The group turned to see two unfamiliar faces approaching them. Naruto, Neji, Sasuke and Kiba bristled when they heard 'princess.' They all shared the same thought.

_He better not be talking about who I think he is._

"Sasori-sempai, Deidara-senpai what are you guys doing here?" Hinata happily stepped forward to greet her new friends unaware of the expressions of her male friends behind her. Deidara bonked her lightly on the head.

"Did you forget? Our plan is on in 15." He reminded her with his finger pointing to the imaginary watch on his wrist. Hinata cutely cupped her cheeks and gasped.

"Its fine, come on," Sasori comforted her and grabbed her hand pulling her towards the exit.

Hinata let herself be dragged away but she turned around, waved to her friends and said, "I have a surprise for you guys so make sure you come to the stage!" When the door was shut and Hinata was out of sight the friends' immediately began chatting about what just happened.

"How do you think Hinata knows Sasori-san and Deidara-san?!" Ino began.

"Well they met at the student council meeting. They were all over her then," Ten Ten chimed in.

"I think that they would make a cute couple," Sakura imagined.

"Hinata with Deidara or Sasori," Ten Ten asked. All the girls stood in silence while they pondered both scenarios. Kiba interrupted their dreams.

"Hey! Don't give this serious thought! Hinata is way too good for both of those losers. Besides did you see how they controlled her?" Kiba ranted with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"For once I'm going to agree with Inuzuka," Neji concurred. Naruto nodded silently with his hands on his hips. Sakura let out a ha-ha directed at the possible romance opposition squad.

"Neji you're just over protective. In your book no one is good enough for Hinata-chan. And Kiba? Don't even get me started! You've been hitting on Hinata since the first day." Kiba lifted his finger and opened his mouth to counter but he had nothing to say.

_At this time all students interested in watching this year's special closing ceremony please report to the auditorium._

_Saved! _Kiba thought relived.

Minutes later, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba and Ino were standing close together smushed in by a hundred other students in the stage room.

Naruto groaned," Why did she want us to come here? It's nothing but a bunch of smelly stu-"

"Um excuse me… everyone could you please…"

"Shut the hell up you little fucks!" Naruto heard Hinata's soothing voice trying to hush the crowd followed by Deidara's screeching yell and then dead silence. He turned to the stage to see an angel and two devils on either side of her. Deidara handed the mic back to Hinata and she continued.

"Thank you all for coming. This year Deidara-senpai and Sasori-senpai wanted to make a…." Naruto was mesmerized by her simple beauty. Skinny jeans and a fitted sleeveless graphic tee was all it took to make his heart beat uncontrollably? No. He was looking at her lips and her eyes and her beautiful long hair that has been simply ruffed up a bit for style.

"So please bear with my voice because-" Hinata was interrupted from shouts of encouragement from the crowd.

"Go Hinata-chan!"

"You can do it."

"Give it your all!"

She smiled and looked at Deidara on the drums to count her in.

Hanabi by Ikimono Gakari

_Kirameite yurameite aoki yume mai hanatsuhana moe yuku_

At first it was just her quiet voice and a simple bass accompaniment. Then the music picked up and so did she.

The students were astounded by her voice. They danced. They couldn't help it. Their bodies moved with her voice in a ways they couldn't control.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and Kiba who were equally taken aback.

"Did you guys…." Kiba asked not bothering t finish his sentence.

"I new she could sing but this is…." Sasuke answered.

Naruto just listened.

_My heart hurts! It feels heavy yet I… I_

Neji smirked at their reaction.

_They don't even know half of what she's capable of._

_Kirameite yurameite aoki yume mai hanatsusakihokore haruka takakumamori yuku sono omoi hitasura nari hibikehateru made semete tsuyokukono hana moe yuku_

The song was over.

Even though the students had been yelling at the top of their lungs during her performance, their cheers at the end almost doubled the volume. Hinata smiled and bowed and waved at her classmates. As if planned, Sasori and Deidara both kissed one of her cheeks simultaneously and lifted her up to receive more applause. She laughed and waved more enjoying the praise.

"Neji nii-san did you see onee-chan!" Hanabi asked grabbing his hands and jumping up and down happily. "She chose that song for me I know it!" Neji smiled at his younger cousin and nodded while patting her head. Then he looked up and spun her around to face her sister.

"Onee-chan!" Hanabi hugged and congratulated her sister.

"Kiba, Sasuke I've been thinking," Naruto began watching the sweetness from afar. "This game, is it actually winnable? I mean… with her… with Hinata as the target." Sasuke looked as his friend; his brother. He looked at him look at her, his eyes full of something the Uchiha never wished to feel again. Love.

* * *

You should check out the song if you don't know it its really good. And does anybody mind that I didn't include the v-b match? Gimmie feedback. I eat it for lunch.


	11. Naruto: The Connection

hey friends! I have tons of time with the 3 day week end and what not and I'm in a great mood so I thought... WHY NOT DO A SHORT for your enjoyment. Just a reminder this is just some... fluff. It actually happens in the story but, its just for character development and back story purposes. This is going to be set after school on Friday a while after the assembly.

* * *

Naruto: The Connection

"Hey Hinata." The girl turned to see Naruto jogging towards her with papers flying out of his binder and a goofy grin painted on his face. She smiled at her friend and walked towards him. "What are you still doing here?"

"Neji-nii and the rest of the student council stayed back to clean up from the assembly. I decided to stay back and help a bit." Naruto was jumping up and down inside.

_I can ask her to hang out! But I have to be cool about it. She's not just going to stop whatever she's doing._

"Why are you here Naruto-kun?"

"Well actually um I..." For a second he thought about lying to her. Then he decided otherwise. He got a sick feeling from the thought of lying to the sweet girl.

"Tsunade is making me stay after school everyday until I get my grades up. Pretty lame right?" He forced a laugh and rubbed his hair awkwardly. Hinata looked at her uncomfortable friend and pondered a solution.

"It's not lame. I admire your will to change your situation and I want to help. I'm going to be here for another hour and a half; do you mind if I give you some pointers?" Naruto looked at his friend. Then in a moment of overwhelming feelings he embraced her.

_She has to be an angel. A goddess! How can she be so kind? So gentle?_

"No one has ever supported me like this Hinata thank you! I wish more girls were like you." Naruto pulled away from the hug only slightly embarrassed to see a beet red Hinata looking up at him with her soft, lavender eyes. He couldn't take his eyes of her eyes.

_Naruto hugged me! Naruto is looking at me! His eyes are so intense... What should I do? I can't move! My heart is racing too fast! _

Hinata was snapped out of her trance when she heard Naruto chuckling. She looked up at him and then he was full on laughing.

"What's so funny?" She asked defensively, crossing her arms. Naruto wiped tears from his eyes and sighed.

"You looked so nervous Hina-chan and it was just a hug," He noticed blush furiously again when he called her Hina and he smirked outwardly. "So you like being called Hina-chan then?" He inquired slyly. Hinata backed up from him and twiddled her thumbs shyly.

"It's just, I have never had a nickname before," she mumbled quietly. Naruto smiled and took her hand.

"Then it'll be just between you and me okay? I'm the only one who can call Hinata Hina-chan!" He clarified possessively. Hinata blushed at the hand holding and his forwardness but complied nonetheless. "Alright then!" Naruto roared. "The night is young let's get studying!" Naruto pulled the small girl into his arms easily. Then he sprung forward and ran down the hall carrying Hinata bridal style. Of course he didn't stop to put her down, disregarding all of her girly protests. He never wanted to let go of the small girl in his arms. He couldn't imagine a day without feeling the warmth of her body near his.

* * *

Yes? No? Good? Bad? More? Less? You decide!


	12. Hinata: The Connection 2

Yo... I'm back yet again. I just feel bad for not updating for a while and I don't feel like doing the HW so... ONE MORE SHORT hehehe

* * *

Hinata: The Connection 2

Hinata stared at Naruto intently and he stared at her with the same fire. By this time everybody including the library assistant had gone home. The assistant told Hinata and Naruto to close the door and shut off the lights when they were done.

"_Nice to meet you sir, my name is Hinata."_

_"Hel-hello Hinata my name is Naruto."_

_"I am 16 years old how old are you?"_

_"I am also 16 years old." _The short English conversation was followed by dead silence and then Naruto's hushed voice. "I did it..." Naruto got up from the chair slowly. "I never thought it would be possible but, I did it! Alright!" Hinata stood up and looked Naruto in the eye.

"Naruto-kun I'm very proud of you but, we still have a lot of work to do if you're going to get an 'A' on the English oral." Just like that Naruto sunk back into his chair and was drained of all his spirit. Hinata looked at her friends face and sighed."Okay then how about we make it more fun? We can try to ask each other questions in English instead of having a boring conversation. How's that?"

"Okay let's talk." Naruto fished into his backpack for some paper and two pencils.

"_What are those for_?" Hinata asked. Naruto thought of how he could answer in English.

"_Paper is for draw if I can't say._" He said unsure if his answer made sense. Hinata smiled and nodded approval not wanting to nit pick every sentence. Instead she decided to jot down things he could still use work on.

"Okay I'll begin. _Naruto-kun would you rather eat beef or pork ramen_?" Hinata began with an easy to answer question. Naruto frowned.

"I'm not a... _baby. Harder questions_ _please_." He demanded. Hinata once again nodded and this time Naruto began. "_So Hinata..." _Naruto glanced at his textbook for some vocabulary and grinned when he found a chapter on relationships."_So Hinata, do you have a boyfriend?" _Hinata tensed up and fidgeted with her hair.

"_No I don't." _Hinata debated whether she should ask Naruto if he had a girlfriend.

"_Well who do you like?" _Naruto asked trying to be nonchalant. Hinata wanted to disappear under Naruto's intense gaze.

"_Naruto-kun! T-that's private. Anyway I- I don't like anyone," _She replied avoiding his stare. Naruto felt something boil inside of him.

_She's a bad lair... Who is this guy that has her heart... _

_"I'm not lying," _She responded to his thoughts. _"I don't want to be in any high school relationships." _Naruto looked at her hopefully but, nodded respectfully.

_"Well anyway," _Naruto changed the subject turning to a different chapter in his book. "_What was it like where you lived before?" _Hinata knew there was no lying her way out of a straightforward question like this one.

"_Actually I've lived in Konoha my whole life. I was just... home schooled," _she confessed.

"_Really?! Me too! For a while I was taught by my perverted foster grandpa but, when he died I started going to public school. That was when I met Sasuke. In the beginning we didn't really like each other but, we shared a bond. Both of us are orphans..." _Hinata was astounded by his openness. She wasn't expecting for him to share his painful and lonely past with her.

"_When did you lose your parents?" _Hinata asked curiously. This question shocked Naruto. Usually after hearing he was an orphan, people would feel sorry for him and distance themselves from him but, she just...

_Hinata is so amazing._

"_I never had any. Gramps raised me." _Hinata smiled weakly at him. She wished she could tell him everything about her life and her mother and just spill out all of her problems right here. Naruto would listen, she knew that but, deep down beyond wanting to keep her cover, she didn't want to change his perspective of her at all.

_I know how you feel Naruto-kun but, should I tell you that? _


	13. Fly Away

Oh yeahhhhhhh! I'm so pumped these days! And I actually have time to write here and there. This won't last for long I can tell you that :D hehe. Here we go. This one's a gona be FUNNNN!

Fly Away

Hinata rubbed her eyes and yawned cutely. Although she woke up 2 hours earlier at 8 o'clock she still felt some Saturday morning sleepiness. She quietly moved about her room tidying up here and there. Then she paused and stared at her walk-in closet. Tentatively, she walked in and sighed at the lack of flavor in her wardrobe. Hinata realized the day before at the Welcome Back Ceremony that she really had no sense of style.

~~~~~the day before~~~~~

"Hey Princess where is your change of clothes?" Deidara looked Hinata up and down. She was wearing her plain school uniform. They were minutes away from the performance and waiting in the back stage for Itachi's cue. Sasori had run off to god knows where and Deidara was far from satisfied. "This is ART. It's an explosion! You need a little more…"

"Pizzazz?" Hinata offered a word. He nodded. Just then, Sasori returned with a plastic bag and a coffee.

"Sasori my man we have a slight problem." Sasori shook his head and tossed the bag to his friend.

"I thought this might happen so I brought these from my mom's studio." Hinata peeked into the bag to see a change of clothes for her. She exhaled a breath of relief and smiled.

"Thank you senpai!"

Usually Hikaru or one of the other maids would pick out fancy kimonos or evening gowns for the Hyuga heiress when necessary. Other than that, Hinata never really went out and didn't have to worry about fitting into a certain style. The girl glanced at her options. She realized that she didn't have many choices. Most of her clothes were way too formal or business like. Then she had two pairs of pajamas.

Frustrated, Hinata plopped onto her bed. Hanabi hearing her sister's quiet movement from the room adjacent busted in excitedly. "Onee-chan I heard you have a date today!" She yelled before she had even closed the door. The moment Hinata's tired mind comprehended what her sister said; all the drowsy feelings were replaced with flustered thoughts racing into her mind.

"D-date! Where... Who did do hear that from Hanabi?" Her sister plopped down onto the bed next to her and got comfortable to stay there for a while.

"At the welcome back ceremony I heard three guys talking about you and how you are going to meet one of them… um Kiba I think…. For ice cream today." Hinata blushed and tried to defend herself.

"Kiba-kun and I are just friends Hanabi." Hinata looked sternly at her sister to make sure there was no confusion about the subject. Hanabi nodded excitedly but, to Hinata's dismay didn't really catch on.

"That's okay nee-chan! I think you're better off with the blond one!" Hinata looked at her sister with disbelief.

"Naruto-kun? And me? Hanabi I don't think you un-"

"I think he balances you out the most you know? Like you're really quiet and he's really loud. Opposites attract!" Hanabi said the last part while nudging her sister suggestively causing Hinata to blush.

"Hanabi I just do-"

"Then again that Sasuke guy looked really cool! Like he would be you're knight but, all aloof and stuff!" She giggled cutely and imagined her older sister hiding behind Sasuke and clinging to his arm. Hinata saw the fantasy too and clutched her chest to keep her heart from exploding. "Maybe Kiba actually. He's the one who invited you out right? I think he'd be the first to admit he likes you." By now Hinata had her face covered with a stuffed bear and was freaking out.

_Am I in the middle of some love square?! I don't know which one to…. _

"Gosh Hanabi don't make me think these things! They're _all_ my good friends. Now, if you're going to be here help me find something to wear." Hanabi smirked slyly and pushed up her pajama sleeves.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Out of nowhere she produced a large bag. Then she dumped the bag's contents out on Hinata's bed. The teen went wide-eyed when she saw all the stylish clothes piled up.

"Hanabi…. Where did you get these?" Hinata gently stroked a cute yellow dress in awe. Hanabi crossed her arms and smirked again.

"I knew you would need these so I had Hikaru-chan order them for me a week ago. They're all the latest fashions of course." Hanabi admired her handy work.

_God I'm good! _She thought smugly.

"Anyway," Hinata began," which one should I wear?" Her sister paused for a second and then went back to the yellow dress.

"Try it on." Hinata nodded and swiftly slipped into the dress. Then she walked toward the mirror to see how it looked on her.

"Wait! Let me finish." Hanabi grabbed her sister and threw her into a chair. "You always have your hair so perfect," she commented combing her sister's hair slowly and gently. "Let's give it a bit more…personality." She grabbed a bottle of volumizer and sprayed a tiny bit on. Then she ruffled Hinata's hair. "Okay lastly how about some accessories?" She slid a white clip into Hinata's hair and a white string bracelet on her wrist. "Here you can where these shoes." Magically, a pair of cute white sandals was on the floor near Hinata's feet. "That's about it," Hanabi said collapsing back onto the bed. The tired girl was suddenly body slammed by her gracious older sister.

"Oh thank you Hanabi! I love you!" This was followed by 5 kisses and muffled giggles and yelps for help.

"Hey sis?" Hanabi asked after they had calmed down.

"Yeah?"

"What time did you say you were going to be there?"

"11:30… why?"

"Well it's 11:20 right now…"

"Oh…"

"Oh?"

"Oh my gosh Hanabi I have to go!" Hinata quickly hopped of the bed smoothed her dress out, grabbed a small black purse and made a move to open the door. Suddenly she stopped and turned around. "Do you think this dress is too short?"

"GET GOING!"

~~~~~10 minutes later~~~~~

"Okay Hyate this is fine people are starting to stare." Hinata looked uncomfortably from the limo's window. Limousines in Konoha were definitely rare and townspeople had started to take pictures and stop to point at the mysterious figure inside. Before things got too complicated and Hinata saw someone she knew she decided to leave. She thanked Hyate for the ride and told him she would call, using her new cell phone, when she wanted to be picked up. She watched him drive off and spotted the ice cream place on the other side of the road.

"Okay, its 11:35 I'm not _that_ late." Hinata hurried over to the cross walk and waited for the signal. On the other side of the road she spotted Kiba leaning against a tree in the middle of the shopping center. Hinata gasped.

_When he said ice cream shop, I was thinking…. This is the most shops I've seen in my life!_

Clothing shops, jewelry stores and restaurants lined the street. Hinata watched hundreds of people pass by talking and laughing with more people. On the other side of the street Kiba noticed Hinata waving and waved back. When she got closer, Kiba felt blood rushing to his face and his heart thumping faster and harder.

_Why am I getting so nervous! It's that dress she looks so damn cute!_ Suddenly Kiba had a shift in thoughts. _Hey get a grip! I'm here to make her fall for me!_

"Hey Hinata!" Kiba shouted waving his friend over. Hinata jogged to where Kiba was and returned his greeting. "Thanks for hanging out with me today."

"Kiba-kun I'd always love to spend time with you," replied smiling.

_God I hate when she looks at me with those huge sparking eyes! It makes me want to hug her._

"Well I have to tell you I can only stay for an hour because I have work at 1:15." Kiba looked at her reaction curiously.

_I'll play hard to get with her if she's going to play innocent princess with me. _Instead, Kiba's plan seemed to backfire once again. Hinata's smile turned into a pout almost instantly after she heard the news.

_Damn! Can't I win? _Kiba thought when she saw her reaction. _I didn't want her to be upset just... I don't even know what I'm doing anymore!_

"Oh, okay I don't want to take away from your job. I wanted to be with you more though." Hinata looked at her friend sadly and turned to walk to the ice cream line. Kiba, overwhelmed by his emotions grabbed her arm and turned her towards him. Then he firmly placed his hands on her shoulders and stared intently into her eyes.

"K-Kiba-kun?" Hinata stammered blushing and startled. She turned her face down and looked at him, her expression cute and curios. In Kiba's mind Hinata was just inviting him to pounce on her like an animal. He was having trouble holding himself back.

_Gah stop looking at me like that! _Kiba thought, his face on fire and his heart rate increasing alarmingly. Unable to take her intense stare he roughly pushed her away. Then he awkwardly rubbed his head, mumbled something about ice creme and jogged away towards the line leaving Hinata behind.

Hinata slowly reached out toward where Kiba was standing as if to pull him back.

~~~~~20 minutes later~~~~~

"...and then Akamaru pees all over her!"

"No..."

"Haha I know that what I said! The old lady got so mad! But, the funny thing was she blamed Naruto! He had to spend the entire weekend volunteering at the old people's home."

Kiba and Hinata were sitting under a tree in a park talking. Kiba had made it his goal to make Hinata laugh at every opportunity so he was telling her stories from his childhood. Hinata was a good listener. She only interrupted for clarification or prodded for more information. Kiba never wanted to miss seeing her pink, full, lips go from a grin to a smile and then part into a bubbly laugh. After close observation Kiba had come to the conclusion that Hinata didn't laugh at other people's misfortune but, just the daily awkwardness or in the moment stuff that nobody found funny.

"I'm so glad that you invited me out Kiba-kun! I've never seen this side of you before," Hinata said allowing a small pink butterfly settle on her creamy leg.

"What do you mean 'this side of me'"? He asked reaching for the butterfly. The quick creature dodged his tentative hand and flew to Hinata's other knee.

"Well I don't know. You're so..."

"Cool? Handsome?"

"Childish." She said with a serious face. They locked eyes for a minute and then both burst out laughing. The butterfly, startled, flew off and landed on Hinata's white sandal. The two had taken of their shoes when they walked onto the soft grass to get more comfortable.

"Well I never knew you liked to laugh this much. I always took you for the serious hime type." Kiba began picking the bulbs around them and fastening them together into a circle.

"You're just funny. I've always imagined having a good friend like you." Hinata smiled at the sky and was unable to see Kiba's frown.

_Friend huh... _

Kiba stood up and dusted himself off. Then without warning he pulled Hinata up as well.

"Kiba-kun wh-,"

"Exuse me sir," Kiba flagged down a stranger and tossed him a camera. "Can you take a picture of me and my girl?" Hinata blushed.

_His girl? He can't possibly be talking about me._

Kiba placed the crown of blue and purple flowers on Hinata's head. As if on command butterflies flocked around the flowers in her hair. Kiba signaled the man and pulled Hinata close to him.

"K-Kiba this i-is," Hinata quietly protested. Kiba hushed her softly and she complied. Hinata remembered the fun she had today and put on a smile. The man counted down from 3 and on 1 Hinata felt Kiba tug at her waist.

_K-Kiss!? _

The result of the picture was a shocked, blushing Hinata with Kiba's strong arm around her waist planting a kiss on her cheek. Some how Kiba managed to portray smugness with his eyes closed and his face turned away from the camera. When Hinata fainted seconds after the picture was taken the man, concerned asked Kiba if he wanted him to call the hospital. Kiba lightly shook his head no. Instead he took the camera, with the fresh photo back and thanked the man. Kiba grinned at the picture and swiftly slipped it into Hinata's purse.

"'ll let you sleep a bit more." Kiba whispered stroking and playing with her long hair. Kiba admired her sweet face and imagined what flavor her lips would taste like. "Don't worry I'm not that cruel. But, don't think after this game is all over I'm going to let you fly away."

* * *

Phew! All done. Actually I wanted to add a lot more to their date... hmmmm I feel a short coming up. That is if you guys want?


	14. And the Winner Is

Hey peeps... bad week. SOOOO MUCH WORK! I thought maybe I'd just update next weekend (I even thought of stopping the story all together! :P with all the stress and what not) but since you guys are really supporting me I thought HEY! why not give em' what they want? Any way I've been looking forward to this chapter for awhile :) lets get started!

* * *

And the Winner Is...

"Hinata-san the crescendo needs to be more powerful! Like your riding a train and it..."

"Falls off a cliff?"

"_Exactement_!" He replied in French, his native language. "Like you've just realized something terrible. I say you even add a bit of a ritardando and make it more somber. Walton added these flats for a reason! Use them!" Hinata nodded with determination and tackled the measures of the viola concerto again. She envisioned her own version of her instructor's suggestions and then played it back. She already had the piece memorized and the notes in tune. Now, the Hyuga focused on creating an emotional rendition of the notes on the page. Walton gave her the melody, the hundreds of notes printed quietly on several sheets of thick paper. Hinata wanted to make it into several minutes of loudness. A song that would penetrate the hearts of anyone listening and make others stop to listen.

"_Tres__bien_ Hinata-san! Feel the music... yes just _comme__cela__._" Hinata finished and slowly rested her arms, mesmerized by what she produced. The girl had always loved playing the viola and while she never complained about any of her lesson teachers to her father, Pierre was the only one she looked forward to seeing.

"Okay that's enough work for today," he huffed exhausted. Hinata nodded and began to loosen her bow gently. "Good job today sunshine," Pierre smiled and ruffled her hair lovingly. "In fact, this is the most emotion you've put into your songs in a while. What happened did you finally get a boyfriend?" He eyed her for what Hinata thought was an eternity and finally the girl sighed and decided to let him in.

"Well I-" she was interrupted before she even started.

"Ha! I knew it! Please tell me he's a musician. Don't tell me, he's a cellist no, no pianist. I won't accept any of those tasteless wood-winders ugh they just ruin an ensembles -"

"Pierre!" Hinata shouted through giggles. "I don't have a boyfriend and we already agreed that his musical talents shouldn't be a problem." Hinata crossed her arms and play glared into his brown eyes. She and him often had these play fights. It made Hinata feel like he actually had a father when she was with Pierre. She couldn't even imagine her father asking if she had a boyfriend let alone knowing if she had one at all.

"_D'accord_ darling," he went back to ruffling her hair and Hinata's red face from talking about boyfriends subsided. "Anyway, I want you to get that old beauty re stringed and polished up for the recital Sunday. This is, mind you, in two days. Here is the address of a shop _fantastique_that is really close by." He handed Hinata the paper and made a move to open the door. Then he remembered something and backtracked to the curious girl. "I almost forgot! The little tiger tells me you want to invite some of you friends to see you play."

"Hanabi? That girl..." Hinata mumbled taking the six free tickets and thanking her teacher.

As soon as he left, Hinata heard a scratching sound from the wall. Cautiously, she placed her ear on the wall to hear exactly where it was coming from. Finally she found where it was the loudest and tapped on the wall lightly. Hinata was startled when the creature on the other side knocked back with the same pattern. The girl tried it a second time louder and the other side matched it again. Curious, Hinata prayed that it wasn't a rodent banging and scratching and began working to remove the wood square. Surprisingly it came off easily and Hinata was met with the small smirk of her little sister.

Hanabi coughed and stepped out of the wall causally. Then she dusted herself off and looked at her sister. "Before you ask me what I was doing there, I was just exploring the air condition ducts okay." Hanabi put her hands on her hips and waited for her sister to call her irresponsible.

"Why are you saying it like all 12-year-old girls scamper around the air condition systems?"

"Bleh," Hanabi replied making a weird face. Hinata grabbed her sister's cheeks and began molding her face despite the little ones giggling protests.

"Onee-chan?"

"Yes."

"Was it fun, last week when you went out with Kiba?" Hinata and her sister had moved out of the practice room and were now chatting on their way to the girls parlor. It was a room that connected the two sisters' rooms and had a couch and a record player. Other than that it was empty and the ground felt hard and cold under their bare feet. Even though the room wasn't accommodating they always found themselves drawn to it. Maybe it's because their mother always told them of how they would decorate it with everything they ever wanted.

"Yeah it was! I can't believe that we live in this town and we've never been to that market place. It has everything Hanabi." Hinata gestured to nothing while snuggled against her sister on the couch. Hanabi marveled at this wondrous place that has a mall and a jewelry shop and an ice cream place.

"Nee-chan!" Hanabi yelled abruptly sitting up.

"What, what!?" Hinata yelled back mocking her sister's sense of urgency.

"Oh please onee-chan my wonderful, pretty, smart and kind onee-san please take me there!" Hinata froze. With every compliment that came out of her sister's mouth she felt an arrow stab her heart. She would take her sister there in a heartbeat but, there was no way she was repeating the limo fiasco. A couple of people at her school asked her if she saw the rich beauty in a golden gown in the limo. All she could do was be flattered that people saw her that way and thank god no one noticed it was her.

"Hanabi... you know I-" Hinata stopped letting her sister down and then thought of a brilliant idea. "...Sometimes I think your devious side is running off on me." She finished, hanging her head in shame at the plan she concocted.

"Oh now that's music to my ears," Hanabi replied in a sing-song voice. "Fill me in sis."

~~~~~30 minutes later~~~~~

Naruto paced back and forth in front of Konoha's _Music Etc._quietly reciting what he would say to the manager when he made his entrance.

"Hi. I'm Uzumaki Naruto the one for the job."

"No that's so lame."

"Hello I applied for this job and was contacted by a man named..." Naruto paused to look at a sheet he filled out for the name of the manager. He sighed and didn't even bother trying to pronounce the name.

_Come on__Uzumaki__! Just walk in there and get the damn job._

After a few more minutes of arguing with himself in front of the store and pacing like a madman, he finally mustered up the confidence to walk in. The store seemed fairly quiet with only a handful of customers browsing. Naruto approached the front desk and was greeted cordially by a young man who introduced himself as Ebisu.

"I was just... I heard that..." Naruto took a deep breath and began again. "I am interested in working here part-time." He finally spat out. Ebisu pushed up his glasses and crossed his arms.

"Do you have all the paper work filled out?" Naruto rustled around in his bag for the sheets of paper he made Sakura fill out in nice handwriting. He shakily handed it to the man who briefly looked it over.

"I'm sorry Mr. Uzumaki but, it seems that you are a tad... under qualified for this job." Ebisu gave the shocked teen his papers back and turned away to aid a customer. Of course Naruto placed his hand over the counter and onto the man's shoulder to force him back around.

"What do you mean 'under qualified'? I filled out everything as well as I could." Naruto tried to keep the frustration out of his voice less Ebisu find another reason not to hire him.

"It's just that we require all of our employees to have some basic musical knowledge. Standard protocol really. I'm sorry kid but, there are a lot of other places hir-" Naruto let go of Ebisu and looked him right in the eye.

"Please sir. I am sixteen years old, I live by myself, and I've been eating take out and living on my grandpa's life insurance money for the past four years! I need this job so much. I'll get kicked out of my apartment if I don't get a job soon." Naruto tried to keep his cool but, just talking about his situation made him want to yell. Ebisu pitied him but, knew he couldn't just give anyone a job.

"Okay, if you can play anything ANYTHING nice on anyone of these instruments I'll give you the job. I don't give this kind of opportunity to everybody so it has to be in the next 5 minutes. I'll give you some time to practice and then you play. Got it?" He pushed up his glasses and turned back to the customer.

"Thank you sir," Naruto said already looking for an easy instrument to play. He had ruled out all of the 'uncool' instruments and was looking at the string section when he noticed a certain beauty examining a small black electric viola. He called out to her from across the store.

"Hey! Hinata!" Naruto jogged over to the petite girl. He couldn't stop smiling at her and she blushed at his goofy grin.

"Hi Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?" Hinata carefully placed the delicate instrument back on the shelf and gave all of her attention to her friend.

"I'm trying to get a job here but, the boss has this rule that you have to play an instrument to be apart of the staff." Hinata looked at her disappointed friend's face. "He gave me 5 minutes to practice but, I don't think it'll help. Maybe I'll just tell him thanks and look somewhere else." Naruto made a move towards the counter but, Hinata grabbed his jacket.

"Wait."

~~~~~1 hour later~~~~~

"So you and your little sister are hanging out today?" Naruto took a sip of his drink and burped loudly earning a scolding full of giggles from Hinata and stares from the strangers around them.

"Yeah she just wanted to buy some movies." Hinata reached into her purse and checked the time on her phone.

_I have to get__Hanabi__back soon; father will be home in an hour or so._

After momentarily settling the job situation Hinata and Naruto headed over to the plaza where Hanabi was shopping.

"I know that store! Teme works there." He said when Hinata described the place where she dropped her sister. Hinata let Naruto lead the way through the mall to where she and her sister were supposed to meet up. Through the wide open entrance to _Video Plus_she saw her sister at the checkout counter. She was about to call out to her but, then she noticed Kiba and Sasuke sitting on a mall couch outside the store chatting.

_Sasuke-kun__must be__on break._She thought.

Neither two boys could see Naruto and Hinata approaching from behind but, the girl could hear what they were discussing clearly.

"... What are you backing out of the game? You still have to pay up." she heard Sasuke say.

"It's not that. I just think that... Look, I spent some time with her on Saturday and she's a really genuine girl. I don't think we should be..." At this point, Naruto tuned in and tried to casually turn Hinata another direction. She moved his arm and pressed forward engrossed in their conversation.

_Who are they talking about?_Hinata asked herself, unwilling to face the obvious.

"Hinata don't jump to conclusions," Pleaded Naruto, desperate to keep her in the dark. Sasuke and Kiba turned when they heard their friend's voice and were shocked to see who he was talking to.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?" Kiba tried to cover up the conversation by acting like his usual self but, it was a lost cause. He reached out toward her and she stepped back, a frightened looked painted on her pale face.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Her question was met by silence. "Kiba-kun, Sasuke-kun," she looked at each of them for a moment. "Naruto-kun, what are they talking about?" Hinata had not noticed a steady stream of tears running down her cheeks. Naruto reached out to wipe the tears but, he was stopped by Hinata's weak hand caressing his own. Through her touch Naruto could understand her thoughts. "Naruto-kun please explain to me what's going on" and "Naruto-kun was it all lies from the beginning" and worst of all "I trusted you". Getting all she needed from Naruto's silence Hinata dropped her hands and brushed pass the three boys. Through teary eyes she saw her litter sister leaving the shop. Hanabi froze when she saw he sister in tears and rushed towards her.

"Hinata wait!" Naruto snapped out of his trance and grabbed her arm spinning her around. When he saw her face he immediately let go. Pure pain, sorrow, emptiness. Like he had sucked the soul out of her and the body was left behind in tears. "I-I'm sor-," Naruto never finished because Hinata, with all the strength she could muster, slapped him. Naruto cupped his stinging cheek and watched Hinata turn away for the second time. Her sister reached out with her hand and Hanabi grabbed and squeezed tightly not fully understanding the situation. When the sisters were out of sight the boys looked at each other for a moment realizing what they did and what they had done too many other girls.

Naruto roughly squeezed his forehead cursing and plopped down on the mall couch, eyes closed and teeth gritted. Then he addressed his friends bitterly.

"So, who's the winner?"

* * *

Gosh this took me a while I kept changing up how she finds out. Any way I'll include the job stuff in a Naruto and Hinata short and a short of how Hanabi and Hinata snuck out.


	15. Sasuke: The Ring

Hey guys! Right now I'm in the car just on my way to visit my older brother in college. Today is his 20th birthday so ya know just going to see him. I don't think that he reads my ff but I wanted to write this short just for him. Anyways it's kinda out of the blue. It's set after Naruto and Hinata have their little study sesh.

* * *

Sasuke: The Ring

After convincing Naruto to leave before her Hinata began her slow walk back home. The sky was a light purple color with pink-tinted clouds sloppily painted on. Hinata stopped to stare at the setting sun and then turned to look at the rising moon. When she did two men she didn't recognize were behind her. Hinata smiled awkwardly and turned to continue on her way. Two steps later she felt a hand in her shoulder pulling her back.

"Where ya going Hun?" Hinata yelped when the man put his arm around her. She was too frightened to answer. Then the second man pulled her closer to him.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? Boss said-"

"I know what boss said but he never said we couldn't have a little fun before." Hinata stood there frozen and confused. The larger one slipped his hand down Hinata's back slowly.

"Please stop!" Hinata pulled his hand away and took a step back. When he grabbed her hand roughly and began to pull her forward again she slapped him.

"You filthy bitch!" the man lashed out slapping Hinata back and making her fly back into a wall. She cupped her face and bit her lip to prevent herself from crying.

"Hidan you don't have to be that rough." Hidan wiped his face and approached Hinata. Then the other man blocked his path.

"Kakuzu what are you doing?"

"Let's just get her to the Ring already before someone catches us." He turned to Hinata and slowly helped her up. "Sorry about this you were just at the wrong place at the wrong time." Kakuzu swiftly covered Hinata's mouth with a cloth and she blacked out, falling into his arms.

~~~~meanwhile and elsewhere~~~~

Sasuke squinted his eyes at the bright light and cursed under his breath. He was at the Ring; a large fighting circle surrounded with a metal fence. It served as a gathering place. Where bums came together and made shady bets on other bums in the ring. These were not professional fighters but the fights were still brutal. Sasuke always made sure to end the fight quickly and painlessly. Tonight especially he had to finish early and hurry over to Kiba's to finish a project. Sasuke sighed an looked over to the top seat where his older brother, Itachi, and his creepy posy were watching the match. In reality, Sasuke and his brother started participating the underground fight ring to make ends meet with bills and school expenses. Then they realized if they also made bets they could not just survive but thrive.

Sasuke signaled his brother with a look that said. How many more people do I have to fight? Itachi held up the number one. As if on cue the announcer began talking.

"In this corner we have the undefeated Sasuke Uchiha. He is known for his ruthless knock outs and deadly strikes." Then he gestured over to the other corner. "Today's challenger is..." he glanced down at his card," a girl!" The audience was silent for a moment and then burst out laughing. Sasuke shook his head.

_So this should be over quick._

The girl entered or was more shoved into the ring by someone Sasuke noticed as one of Itachi's crew. She was wearing a brown cloak and he couldn't see her face. Sasuke shrugged and looked at his brother for a cue on how to fight. They worked out a system so 1 is win 2 is lose and 3 is give up. He got a 1 and nodded. The ref started the fight and Sasuke approached.

"If you don't want to get hurt I suggest you give up." After saying this most weak challengers gave up. To Sasuke's surprise the girl looked up into his eyes and smiled. He immediately recognized her eyes.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"Hinata! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Those two guys just brought me and shoved me in here." The crowd began to murmur when they saw the fighters chatting in the ring.

"Just give up so we can all go home," Sasuke said restlessly. Hinata was about to raise her hand to say something but then rethought her decision. She wiped of her cloak and threw it into the crowd. Then she got into her gentle fist stance. Sasuke was dumbfounded but decided to humor her.

Hinata made the first move. She struck out with her right arm at Sasuke's shoulder. He side stepped but was met with another set of fingers from the left. Rather than side step once more he dropped to the floor quickly and attempted to kick Hinata's legs from under. Without faltering she leapt into a back aerial and landed on the fence using it to propel herself forward. Sasuke was up and saw her coming with a another gentle fist attack. He grabbed her arm in midair and was planning on slamming her into the other side of the fence. Predicting this, Hinata, being held by Sasuke, stuck her foot into his chest to get free of his grip. Then, using the fence as a spring-board again she attempted to drop kick him. The trained boy caught her foot centimeters above his head. As of now the crowd was roaring. Bets were being placed on both the teens. During the commotion Sasuke let go of Hinata's leg and began whispering to her.

"Don't even make me ask."

"Are you surprised?" Sasuke sighed and got back into a fighting stance. "My father thinks that it's important to at least be able to do this kind of stuff. I've been taking martial arts since I was able to walk." Hinata decided to leave out all the gentle fist stuff that would link her to one of the most powerful families in Asia. The two friends circled each other in the ring waiting for the other to strike. Sasuke looked at the fire in Hinata's eyes and sighed.

_She's really enjoying this. I don't think she gets how dangerous the situation is..._

"Hinata! Do you actually want to do this?" With out waiting for a response he dashed towards her fists up. He aimed a punch at her stomach but, she dodged with a backhandspring. When she was re-orientated Sasuke met her with another low kick. This time, the kick connected and knocked her off her feet. Hinata felt herself falling back. At the last second she felt something catch her. She looked back to see Sasuke.

"It seems that you're not as good as you think _Princess_." Hinata pushed herself away from him and spun around. Sasuke smirked and pulled her back then lifted her up and slung her over his shoulder. The crowd snickered and laughed loudly at the girls situation. Hinata blushed.

"Sasuke-kun let me down!" Hinata protested. She pummeled his back weakly and Sasuke laughed wholeheartedly.

_Why is it that he only laughs AT me?_

"Where did all that fight go?" Sasuke laughed with the crowd and lightly patted her on the butt playfully. Hinata was beat red.

"Stop!" She yelled. All of a sudden Sasuke was on the floor out cold with Hinata on top of him. The audience was silent. Then a few people voiced their confusion.

"What just happened!"

"I think she kicked him!"

"Haha the Uchiha kid was just knocked out by a kick in the nuts!"

Hinata blushed again but, giggled slightly when the crowd cheered her on. She heard the announcer say she was the winner and she smiled. Then she squatted down to look at Sasuke's face.

_Hehe I'll never let you forget this!_

* * *

A little long for a short I guess but, I feel like I've been neglecting Sasuke. I hope you guys understood what was going on. I just had to add a bit more action/ comedy to the drama


	16. Kiba: The Date

What's up guys? I haven't really decided if I'm going to update an actual chapter this week. I mean with all the drama last time you guys probs what to know what I have in store for our friends in Naruto land. I don't know... I'll see how I feel after I write this short. -_- Thanks for supporting me :) Anyways this is obviously set before the mall scene. Just a little bit more of the KibaHina date

* * *

Kiba: The Date

Kiba listened. Every so often she would take a small lick of the vanilla cone. Sometimes she would get very into it and vigorously capture the dripping droplets into her mouth. Kiba watched and waited.

_What should I say to her? _

_Come on Kiba just say something? What are you off you game?_

_I don't know. I just don't want to... to say the wrong thing._

The inner turmoil in Kiba momentarily subsided and he made a subtle move closer to Hinata on the bench. Hinata turned to her friend and stared for a moment. Kiba looked back into her eyes.

_Her eyes..._

To Kiba it was some sort of revelation. Hinata had long since smiled at him and turned away but, Kiba was still looking at her. Sweet memories of her laughter filled him. The image of her serene, innocent eyes and gentle smile burned into his mind. Then it found its way to his heart and he felt himself blush.

"Kiba-kun are you alright? You look red." Hinata placed the back of her hand on Kiba's forehead which did nothing to calm his heart. Kiba jerked away and stood up from the bench, slowly distancing himself from her. Hinata stood up as well, not sensing Kiba's dilemma.

_I can't let this happen! I won't! I won't fall for her!_

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and began to stutter. "S-so what do you w-want to do now?" Hinata swayed side to side while clutching the bottom of her dress shyly. Then she pursed her lips and moved her hands to her hips, deep in thought.

"Well, I'd like to take a walk in a park," she concluded. It was such a simple request, nothing that Kiba was familiar with to or expected. He thought of all the other girls he hooked up with and compared them with Hinata's straightforward innocence. She looked at Kiba expectantly and he mentally shook his head.

_I said I was going to give her the date of her life and damn it I will._

"Alright my lady, shall we?" He held out his arm and Hinata delicately locked arms with him. The two of them began to make their way from the ice cream shop to the town park. As they crossed the road into the park, Kiba turned away from Hinata to hide his blushing face.

_I wonder if people think we're a couple. I took her arm without thinking about it..._

He snuck a glance at her to see if she was experiencing the same conflict. Kiba sighed, seeing her unaffected. Instead, Hinata was humming a tune, lost in her own world.

_What am I to her? Is her heart beating as fast as mine is right now?_

* * *

_Gah super short... Too short bleh_


	17. Frozen and Burned

Sooooo remember when I wrote that Sasuke short? Well with this stupid storm that was the last time I had power. I haven't had school for the past…what…3 days? I was super excited to use this time to write but of course no power means no computer. I'm writing on my laptop right now with about 2 hr of battery left. Bleh… here we go (HEY GUYS I actually wrote this like a week ago but, i was too lazy to post it :P)

* * *

Frozen and Burned

Once a month, Hinata's father has dinner with his kids. Usually he would invite some of his business partners or potential buyers to the dinner, making it an extremely formal event. Hinata spent hours getting lectured by her tutors about what to say, what to laugh at, how to act. Throughout it, she was a mindless doll being powdered and scrubbed and painted with whatever she needed to become the perfect heiress. Afterword, all the guests were going to go to Hinata's viola recital.

"Hinata-sama did you know your dress was imported from France and is made of…"

"Hinata-sama you must be perfect tonight! There's a man from The Osata Group who…"

"Hyuuga-sama it's almost time for you to make your appearance!"

Hinata felt hands grab at her from every direction. She felt like she was back stage at some huge event that was put together at the last second. To her it seemed so surreal, like a dream; more accurately, a nightmare.

After her elegant look had been completed and perfected for the last time, Hinata was transported from the make shift make up room to a holding room that lead to the grand entrance she was expected to make. A maid opened the door for her and Hinata slowly stepped in. She noticed Hanabi was already done with her transformation and was making herself comfortable on the expensive couch.

"Nee-chan…" she voiced quietly. On the other side of the door were some of the most powerful men and women in Asia laughing and drinking sake. Hinata could hear them clearly; their conversation was on the oil and light industries' dominance. She sat down near her sister and thought about saying something. Then she changed her mind and rested her head on Hanabi's shoulder.

"Onee-chan," Hanabi tried again. "Who did you end up giving those tickets too?" Hinata looked at her and blinked, confused. She shook her head to try to remember.

_Wasn't that day a dream? It had to have been._

"Onee-chan, please be happy again," Hanabi whispered into her sister's ear. Hinata's eyes grew large with shock.

_Aren't I already happy?_

"Forget about those bastards!"

_Hanabi, watch your language!_

"You didn't even tell me what happened! I don't care anymore I just want my sister back!"

_My sister, I love you so much. Why can't I… Can't I… snap out of this? For her?_

Hinata grabbed her sister's hand and squeezed it. "Hanabi…" She muttered, "I'm sorry."

~~~~~10 minutes later~~~~~

Hinata sat perfectly; back straight, legs tucked under her, toes pointed and hands folded at the lap. If she so much as took a sip of water, all eyes were on her to make sure her pinky was up.

"So Hinata-chan, tell us about yourself." Hinata turned to face a large woman wearing a traditional kimono. She sat across the table two people to Hinata's left, right next to her father. She easily identified her as Madame Greene, a French business woman who controlled most of Japan's car businesses.

"What would you like to know?" Hinata responded. Her voice was courteous and poised; each sound she made was made with a purpose. The girl glanced to the corner of the room to see her speech coach and etiquette teacher nodding slightly with approval. Hinata had answered the question correctly.

Madame Green smirked. "Anything darling! Tell us about that quaint public school you're attending. How are those commoners treating you?" The entire table of adults waited.

"Well I didn't expect much to begin with." The men laughed at her statement and Hinata cringed at her fakeness. Nevertheless it was another point for her.

"Are you keeping up with your studies?" This question was asked by Kazuhiko Shimokobe, the chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Incorporation. Hinata mentally sighed.

_This is so tiring._

"Yes I have very high grades in every one of my classes. I'm sure to receive the highest grade on the midterm and final." Once again her teachers in the corner nodded. This routine went on for most of the dinner. One of her father's business partners would ask her a question about her studies or her tutored subjects and Hinata would alternate between giving a beautifully crafted response or a mean spirited remark to entertain the group.

Hinata quickly glanced at the clock. _My recital is in 1 hour. I should already be there! _She grit her teeth silently.

"What's the rush? We'll get to your thing eventually." Hinata and most of the other people in the room turned to the door to see where the unfamiliar voice was coming from. The intruder smirked and rudely plopped down at the head of the table right next to Hinata's father. Next, a parade of body guards entered and surrounded the other guests. "Geeze I told you guys not to follow me!" The man childishly crossed his arms and pulled his hat down further. Hinata stifled a giggle.

_Who is he?_

"Toshiro! I told you to meet us at the concert. Not to barge in on our dinner." Hinata held her breath. She didn't expect her father to say anything at all throughout the dinner.

"Well where is she? I couldn't wait any longer to introduce her to Yuki." Toshiro said ignoring Hiashi's words. Hinata's father turned to the other guests.

"I'm sorry for the interruption. Let us mo-"

"Hiashi-kun aren't you going to introduce me?" The entire table gasped. Who in the world is able to address Hiashi Hyuga like that; In such an informal way? Hiashi squeezed the bridge of his nose and muttered something under his breath.

"I think if you take of your hat and glasses I won't have to." For dramatic effect, the man slowly peeled his glasses and hat off at the same time. Then for the finale he threw them up the air in a TA-DA like fashion.

_Mitsubishi-san!? _Hinata's thoughts were echoed in the dining hall.

"M-Mitsubishi-san?"

"Your b-back?"

"We thought you went to America?!"

Hinata's head was spinning trying to process all the comments and just that one of the most powerful men in the world was sitting at her dinner table. Toshiro laughed at all the confusion and held his hand up for all the chatting to stop.

"Look," he began, "Long story short I went to America, met a woman and I'm back! I've got myself a son, ya know, the whole "heir to the business" thing and I want him to marry that beautiful girl." He pointed across the table to Hinata. Once again, the guests went ballistic.

"Hyuga I thought we already said your girl would marry-"

"Greene, your son is too young! He can marry the little o-"

"What about the deal we made before y-"

Hinata was frozen.

_Marriage? _She glanced over to her sister who was chuckling into the sleeve of her kimono. Under the table Hinata kicked Hanabi and when she turned to face her attacker, she received the closest thing to a death glare Hinata could ever give.

~~~~~40 minutes later (at the recital)~~~~~

"Naruto I told you to dress nicely!" Sakura boomed. She refrained from hitting him on the head only because they were Hinata's guests. "Don't make me regret giving you one of these tickets!"

"Give him a break Sakura; at least he's wearing a tie."

Sakura turned to see Kiba and Sasuke approaching them. She wasn't surprised to see Kiba wearing a designer Calvin Klein suit and a fancy watch. On the other hand, she took much more time to look at Sasuke who, to Sakura, looked straight out of a magazine with his sharp black dress shirt and black pants.

"Ten Ten and Ino should be here soon," she stated, forgetting her earlier quarrel with Naruto. The pinkette told her friends she would get in the long ticket taking line to hold their spot and walked off, her long black dress slowly trailing after her.

Naruto glanced at his friends, a sickening feeling bubbling in his stomach. Of course he hadn't forgotten Friday's events. When Sakura invited him to Hinata's recital he was speechless; images of the last time he saw her flooded his mind and conscience. Naruto swore he could hear Hinata's broken voice and feel her sadness everywhere he went.

"Should we have come?" Naruto asked no one in particular. Kiba placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and sighed.

"I don't think she expects us to be here," he replied dodging Naruto's original question.

Sasuke straightened out his tie and addressed his friends, "She didn't tell any of the girls about it. If she is trying to forget about it, we should too." Kiba nodded in agreement but, Naruto was still.

_How can I forget that? They didn't see her face, they couldn't feel her sadness. That loneliness, pain and anguish… It reminded me of myself. I can't… I won't live with myself knowing I did that. I'll never be able to live with myself if Hinata hates me._

~~~~~2 hours later~~~~~

Hinata exhaled now that all the stress of playing in front of hundreds was over. She finally felt like she could breathe but, even now, her life was far from good and even farther away from happy. Hinata loosened her bow and tucked it and her viola into the case. She was backstage in the area designated to performers. The backstage was mostly cleared out save a few security people.

"Hinata nee-chan," a voice called out. Hinata turned to see Hanabi dashing toward her. She opened her arms for her sister to hug her and Hanabi did. "You were great," she said, squeezing Hinata.

"Yes you were!" Hinata looked up from the hug to see Toshiro Mitsubishi clapping his hands and smiling broadly. Then she noticed her father walk up from behind followed by Neji and person she wasn't familiar with.

"Thank you Mitsubishi-san. I hope you enjoyed the recital," Hinata said, bowing formally. This prompted another outburst of laughter from Toshiro, who stepped closer to Hinata.

"Oh don't address me so formally! Call me dad or Toshi-"

"Father!" Hinata was startled when the young man stepped forward and called Toshiro father. More than that, she was amazed that he would ever raise his voice to his father. After getting over the initial shock, she took some time to look at him. Like most of the men that attended the recital, he was wearing a sharp black suit and an expensive watch. What caught her off guard was his face and hair. His hair was a fiery red. It had layered spikes that jumped out in every direction and yet, he still looked respectable. She guessed it was because of the black framed glasses. "Please excuse my father Hyuga-san." Hinata tried to assure him that it was okay.

_He's part American right? I can hear it in his accent but, his Japanese is flawless!_

"Oh look at them! Already friends!" Toshiro patted Hiashi on the back a little too hard and he grumbled slightly. The redhead rolled his eyes at his father. Then he turned back to Hinata and stuck his hand out for her to shake.

"My name is Yoshitaka Mitshubishi, pleased to meet your a-"

"Hey would you let us by!"

"I'm sorry miss but, this area is for authorised per-"

"Authorized personnel my ass, our friend is right there!"

Hinata winced and prayed that it wasn't who she thought it was. Everyone else turned to see who was making the noise. When Hinata also turned she saw an angered Sakura yelling at one of Toshiro's bodyguards. Standing close by was the gang; Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba included. Hinata stared aimlessly down the stage.

_I knew Sakura was going to invite Naruto, Sasuke and Kiba when I gave her the tickets... I shouldn't be surprised._

"Hinata-chan hey," Sakura yelled, flagging down her friend. Hinata winced again, trying to find a way out of the situation without tears. She turned back to her guests and smiled then briskly made her way over to the gang. Naruto gulped and turned around. Kiba took out his phone and pretended to be busy. Sasuke was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed eyes focused on the floor.

"Hey guys thanks for coming," she said flatly. None of the girls caught her tone and all went up to group hug her. "I'm sorry but, I have to go. We have company." Hinata grinned though it all making sure not to look in any of the boy's directions'. Then she began to turn back towards Yoshitaka and the others.

"Hinata!" Naruto called out, unable to hold it in any longer.

_Do you hate me? Why didn't you tell anybody about what we did? Can you ever forgive us?_

These were all things he wanted to say but, couldn't. His shout rung out unanswered. Her silence crushed any hopes Naruto had about forgiveness. What he got instead was a smile. One filled with pain. Her painful smile, quivering lips and bulging eyes on the verge of tears scarred his heart and burned his soul. Hinata turned away without muttering a single word to him.

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GEEZE that took sooooo long to come up with! I had NO IDEA how to make the encounter with hinata and the boys go.


	18. A Beautiful Thing

Guys I have absolutely no excuse for not uploading in like 8 months. Unless you count school as a valid excuse. I want to finish what I started though!

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A Beautiful Thing

"What's up with Hinata-sama?" Neji turned to his younger cousin and whispered. Hanabi shrugged in response and turned back to the clearing. The two of them were observing the young heiress perform an ancient traditional form known as the gentle fist. They sat on the polished wooden stairs that led to the clearing that the heiress did her forms in. Normally her moves were graceful and calculated. However for the past week Neji had noticed her moves diminishing in quality. Hanabi had noticed too of course but unlike her cousin she knew exactly what was bothering her.

~~~~~days earlier~~~~~

"Hanabi?" The girl heard her older sisters gentle voice calling her. She slowly opened one of her eyes to glance at her nightstand for the time.

"2:46am, this better be a nightmare for your sake onee-san."

"I can't sleep." Hinata replied unable to see the death glare her sister was giving her. Hinata heard the bed shift a bit and then saw the outline of Hanabi's neon yellow blanket being lifted. Smiling weakly at her sister's gesture Hinata crawled in.

"Onee-san what's been going on?" There was a pause in the air and Hinata inhaled.

"Remember those three guys?" Another pause. "They played me."

"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked blood boiling.

"I don't know the details. They made a bet about me. They were just pretending to be my friends." Hinata felt a lump growing in her throat as she spoke about it.

_How embarrassing._

Under the cover she felt Hanabi squeeze her hand. Hinata dropped the front and pulled her sister into a hug, her body shaking with fresh tears. Hanabi bit her lip and with it swallowed saying anything that could hurt her sister further.

~~~~~_flashback end_~~~~~

"Hinata-sama?! Focus please, the ceremony is next week and you've made little progress on this routine!" Neji shouted from the porch. All the maids turned when they heard the fire in his voice. Everyone was thinking the same thing however, challenging the heiress was unthinkable. Hinata stopped suddenly and eyed Neji. Beads of sweat ran down his face and he quickly shot his eyes to the ground.

_So much for the great Neji_. Hanabi thought rolling her eyes. The younger Hyuga made a move to stand up when she noticed a flash of red move past her.

"Mitsubishi-san?!" She heard a maid squeak.

"Forgive our rudeness but we must ask that you le-"

"It's okay right? I just wanted to pay a visit to my friend Hinata," he interrupted with poise. His stature and creamy foreign voice made the murmuring among the staff diminish and he casually walked down into the training clearing. Hearing her name Hinata held her position but stopped to look at her visitor. She was surprised to see Mitsubishi's son Yoshitaka standing before her. What's more, he was wearing the same white training clothes as her. The garments resembled Taekwondo uniforms with the respective belt colors. The only difference was on the back Hinata's bore the symbol of the old Hyuga clan.

"Hello Hyuga-san," he said bowing slightly. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at his formality.

"You don't have to be so formal Yoshitaka-san" he was taken aback at her friendless despite him begin her biggest competition in Japan and smiled back. The Mitsubishi and Hyuga corporations have long since been battling for control over Japan's industries and both of them were destined to carry on the traditions. However, realizing that both of the companies were being hurt by constant personal quarrels between the current leaders, a marriage between Hinata and Yoshitaka had been proposed.

"Then Hinata-san, I felt as if our meeting weeks ago was cut a bit short so I came by just to chat. Now that I see you're occupied I am beginning to regret my unannounced visit." He bowed again and began to make his way back toward where Neji and Hanabi were watching the scene. To his surprise Hinata swiftly spun around his body and spread in front of him grinning.

"I see you are wearing some training clothes were you planning on joining me?"

"Looks like I've been discovered," he blushed once again and rubbed the back of his head.

_What am I doing? Father sent me here to get to know my finance not fight her!_

Hinata observed his shyness and knew fully well the burden that they both shared. Both the successors to their father's wealth. Both expected to excel. The only difference was Mitsubishi actually cared for his son rather than only using to expand his empire. Snapping out of her thoughts, Hinata's attention was caught by something else.

"Are you actually a black belt?" She asked gesturing at the black strip of fabric tied around his waist. Yoshitaka looked around making sure she was actually talking to him and then nodded and smirked.

"And yourself?" He countered pulling at hers and making her stumble. He laughed when she faltered and fell into him.

"Of course!" Hinata retorted pulling herself together. With out a verbal agreement the two of them began circling each other in the clearing ready for a friendly sparing match.

"I hope you don't plan on hitting someone with glasses?" Teased the young heir. Hinata smiled.

"Maybe not in the face," she replied daringly.

The spar had drawn the attention of almost ever maid and butler in the Hyuga household.

"Hinata-sama is fighting who?"

"Mitsubishi-san son? Here?!"

25 minutes went by and neither of them looked close to calling it quits. Neji and Hanabi watched Hinata from the sides glad to she her shinning with grace once again.

"Are you ready to take this to the next level?" Yoshitaka asked Hinata tauntingly. Not waiting for a reply he slowly took off his glasses. "Neji-San please hold these!" He tossed the designer frame to Neji who caught them coolly. Hinata wasn't about to be beat. She took out the traditional clip that was holding her hair up and kicked off her shoes.

"Okay then lets get serious!" She yelled dashing toward him.

Out of no where as both teens were mid punch, a flash of smoke separated the brawl.

"Yuki!" Recognizing the voice Yoshitaka's face suddenly went pale and he made his way over to Hinata, gripping her arm tightly. "Yuki I thought I told you to get to know her not-"

"Run!" Hinata heard this but instead felt her body floating quickly away from the smoke. Yoshitaka hadn't waited for her to start moving but instead threw her over his shoulder and hopped the wooden fence of the clearing into the back woods of the estate. Then he dropped to the ground and pushed Hinata into his heaving chest.

"What's h-happening? She mumbled into his shirt.

"My dad..." Hinata's confusion turned into a smile then full on laughter. Yoshitaka felt the girl shaking and pushed her up gently to see the problem. He was surprised to be met with a bubbly laugh. The red head arced his eye brows then pouted cutely only making Hinata laugh more.

"Are you making fun of my misfortune?" He asked tickling her stomach evilly. After some time the laughing and tickling subsided and they were met with a sweet quietness.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"For what?" He asked confused.

"For being real."

"I don't understand. Wait! Could it be your falling in love with me?" He gasped over dramatically and snickered poking her arm. Hinata blushed and pummeled him back.

"Yuki-kun!" It was Yoshitaka's turn to blush when she called him using that name. The two of them collapsed into each other laughing.

_Maybe this is the start of something... Beautiful._

On the other side of the fence the Hyuga staff was met with an even bigger surprise when Mitsubishi himself appeared at the estate. He had come over to check on his son's progress with his future daughter in law and was a bit annoyed to see him still in the sparing partner stage.

"Excuse me Mitsubishi-san, do you know where Yoshitaka-san has taken Hinata-san?" Haruka asked looking to get Hinata to her 2 pm ballet class.

She was answered by the laughter of the two teens from aver the fence. Mitsubishi smiled.

"This, everybody is the start of something very beautiful."

~~~~~later that day~~~~~

Hanabi busted into her sister's room and leaped straight into Hinata's arms.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so glad your back I was so worried about you and coming from me that means something!" Besides having a heart attack when her sister barged in unannounced, Hinata was startled at Hanabi's words.

"What do you mean? Why were you worried about me?" Hanabi looked up and arched one eyebrow.

"Are you kidding me? You went all emo on us after those jerks played you. I though you were like... Suicidal."

"Hanabi! Don't say things like that." Ignoring her sister the little one went on.

"But then HE showed up and it was like the old you was back." Hinata sighed unable to deny the fact that hanging out with Yoshitaka earlier did make her forget.

_Aww now I'm remembering it again!_

It was Hanabi's turn to be startled when Hinata stood up from her place on the bed and clenched her fist.

"No! I'm a Hyuga I won't let this ruin my life."

"That's the spirit!" Hanabi chimed in.

"I have other people who actually like me!"

"Yeah you do!"

"I don't need them!"

"Girl power!" Hinata looked at her sister who wished she could take that one back. After the awkward moment passed Hinata did something she missed doing so frequently; she laughed.

Hanabi looked at her sister and smiled. Then her genuine smile changed into a more evil smirk as she took a flier out of her pocket.

"My wonderful sister, now that you are in a better mood I was wondering if you could take me to this." She shoved the paper into Hinata's face and her sister's smile quickly faded to a quizzical pout and then a disapproving scowl.

"No," she stated flatly. The flier was an advertisement for the annual Kage Mania: an underground showing for Japan's hottest j-rock bands. In the bottom Hinata noted the 16 and up unless accompanied by an adult and sighed. Hanabi pouted.

"Please," she wined holding out the 'e' like little girls do. "As a favor? I'll owe you one!" Hinata exhaled again.

"Maybe if you told me earlier. Maybe if it wasn't 7 to 1am. Maybe if-" she was cut off on her last reason why not when she felt her thy vibrate with a text.

"From Deidara-senpai? What does he want?" She thought out loud.

"Read it read it! Hanabi squealed, her interests suddenly differed. Hinata rolled her eyes but complied.

"Hey hime," as soon as she began Hinata's face was plastered with red.

"Hahaha he calls you princess? Looks like the love polygon just gets bigger and bigger!" Hanabi commented.

Hinata brushed her sister off and continued.

"Hey hime, do you want to play with my man and I for Kage M? We could really use your artsy self." As Hinata continued with the message her voice become smaller and smaller. Hanabi, realizing what was happening wasted no time dashing to her room and returning with her large bag o' clothes. Hinata just collapsed back onto the bed hoping for some close by volcano to erupt.

~~~~~an hour later~~~~~

"Hime! Over here!" Hinata turned around in the crowded park to see her upperclassmen friends waiving her down. Hanabi's eyes bulged.

"That's them? Why didn't you tell me you were surrounded by such good looking men?!" Hinata turned to squeeze Hanabi's cheeks and when she turned around her smile twitched a bit as she approached them.

"Sasori-senpai Deidara-senpai! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier? It's already 4pm, we only have 3 hours to pull this together!" Hinata cheeks puffed up and she crossed her arms; the closest thing the girl could ever get to annoyed.

"This fool didn't think to ask you until today. We're so sorry to inconvenience you hime," Sasori apologized kissing her hand. Hinata turned her head to hide her blush.

"W-well don't let it happened again," she said faking authority. The group laughed at this scene. "Guys this is my younger sister Hanabi," Hinata turned to place her hands on her sister's shoulders and realized she had disappeared. Seconds later she received a text from the devil herself that read, "I'll meet you back here at 11 so we can head home luv ya!" Sasori and Deidara read the text over Hinata's shoulders and chuckled. "You guys!" Hinata wined again.

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Okay so this chapter was kind of just for me to get back into the swing of things, nothing really major. I'll probably upload another in the next 2 or 3 days just to get the story moving again. Thanks for supporting me! 3


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